NUTRI ENT

MANAGEMENT
AND
FERTILIZER
TECHNOLOGY

Dr
.M.YUVARAJ,
Ph.
D.
AssistantProfessor
Depar
tmentofSoi lSci
enceandAgricul
tur
al
Chemi stry
Adhi
parasakthiAgricult
ural
Col
l
ege
Kalavai,
Vellore

Dr
.S.NANTHAKUMAR,
Ph.
D.
Dean
Adhi
par
asakt
hiAgricult
ural
Col
l
ege
Kal
avai,
Vellore
 CONTENTS

S.
No. Chapt
ers Pages
1 Soi lfer t
ili
tyandpr oduct i
vity– essent i
alnut ri
ent s- 1
cr i
teriaofessent ial
ity–N, PandKnut r i
ents-
funct ions,
def i
ciencyandt oxicitysy mpt oms
2 Cal ci
um, Magnesi um, SulphurandMi cr onut r
ients– 12
funct ions, defici
encyandt oxi cit
ysy mpt oms
3 Concept sandappr oachesofsoi lfert
il
ityev al
uat i
on– 24
Liebig’ sLaw, Mi tscher li
ch’sl awandBr ay,snut ri
ent
mobi l
ityconcept .Appr oaches-Def i
ci
encysy mpt oms,
tissueanal ysis,biological test sandchemi cal tests.
4 Techni ques/met hodsofsoi lferti
li
tyev al
uat i
on– 34
Induct ive,deduct ive,‘A’ valuet echnique, cropl ogging,
cr i
ti
cal l
evel,DRISandagr onomi cappr oach.
Sour ces, f
orms, mobi li
ty,transf ormation, f
ixation,
5 losses 39
andav ai
labili
tyofni trogeni nsoi l
Sour ces, f
orms, mobi li
ty,transf ormation, f
ixation,
6 l
osses 46
andav ai
labili
tyofphosphor ousi nsoil
Sour ces, f
orms, mobi li
ty,transf ormation, f
ixation,
7 losses 53
andav ai
labili
tyofpot assium i nsoil
Sour ces, f
orms, mobi li
ty,transf ormation, f
ixation,
8 l
osses 58
andav ai
labili
tyofcal cium andmagnesi um insoi l
Sour ces, f
orms, mobi li
ty,transf ormation, f
ixation,
9 l
osses
63
andav ai
labili
tyofsul phuri nsoi l
Sour ces, f
orms, mobi li
ty,transf ormation, f
ixation,
10 l
osses
67
andav ai
labili
tyofmi cronut ri
ent sinsoi l
Fer ti
l
izer s-definit
ion, classificationofN, PandK
11 fertil
izers 78
12 Nfert
il
izer
s-Ur
ea,ammonium sul
phat
e,ammoni
um 88
ni
tr
ate,CAN,pr
opert
iesandt
heirr
eact
ionsi
nsoi
l
.
13 Manuf
act
ureofur
eaandammoni
um sul
phat
e. 98
14 Pf er
ti
li
zer
s-Rockphosphate,bonemeal ,
basicsl
ag, 102
si
nglesuperphosphate,
diammoni um phosphat
e,
tr
iple
superphosphat
e,proper
tiesandthei
rreacti
onsinsoi
l
.
15 Manuf
act
uri
ngofSSPandDAP. 122
Kfert
il
izer
s-MOPandSOP-pr
oper
ti
esandr
eact
ions
16 i
n 127
soi
l.
17 Manuf
act
ureofMOPandSOP. 133
18 Complexf erti
li
zer
s-def ini
ti
on,manufactur
eof 138
ammoni um phosphate,nitrophosphateandN,
P,K
complexes
Mixedfert
il
izer–defi
nit
ion,pr
eparat
ionand
19 compatibi
li
ty 147
Micr
onutr
ientmi
xtur
es–Pr
epar
ati
onand
20 char
act
eri
sti
cs 155
21 Fer
ti
li
zerCont
rol
Order 164
Organicmanur
es-Def
ini
ti
on,
classi
fi
cat
ionand
22 sources 177
23 Compost i
ngtechniques-Aer obicandanaer obic
(Bangal or
e&Coimbat oremethod)enri
chedFYM and
188
vermicompost.Compost ingoforgani
cwast e-
Sugar cane
trashandcoirwast e
Met hodsoffert
il
izerappli
cat
ionfordi
fferentsoi
l
24 types 205
-Ferti
gat i
on–Def i
nit
ion–Solublefer
ti
lizer
s–
Ferti
li
zer
solubili
ty
25 I
nter
act
ionbet
weenwat
erandf
ert
il
izer 214
26 Ty
pesoff
ert
igat
ion-Fer
ti
li
zerschedul
e. 220
27 Compar
isonoff
ert
il
izerappl
i
cat
ionmet
hods. 230
28 Nutrientmanagementconcept s–INM, STCR,IPNS, 238
SSNM andRTNM.
29 Nitr
ogenuseef fi
ciency–Sl owrel
easeNf er
ti
li
zers- 257
Signifi
canceandenhancementt echni
ques.
30 Nutrientuseeff
ici
encyofP, Kandmi cr
onutr
ientsand 268
thei
renhancementt echniques.
31 Soilhealt
h-Defini
tion-Soi lQual
it
yIndi
ces-Phy si
cal
, 275
chemi calandBi
ologi cali
ndicat
ors
 SOM mai
ntenance-Rol
eofSOM i
nsust
aini
ngsoi
l
32 heal
th 285
33 Longt
erm ef
fectoff
ert
il
izat
iononsoi
l 295
 Chapt
er1

Soi
lFert
il
it
yandPr oduct
ivi
ty–Essent
ial
Nutri
ents-Cri
ter
iaofEssenti
ali
ty–N,PandK
Nutri
ents-Funct
ions,Def
ici
encyandToxi
cit
y
Symptoms

Soi
lFert
il
ity
Soilfer
ti
li
tyistheabil
it
yofthesoi
ltoprovi
deal lessent
ial
pl
antnut
ri
entsinavai
labl
efor
msandinasui
tabl
ebalance.

Soi
lpr oduct
ivi
ty
Thecapabili
tyofsoilt
oproducespeci
fi
edcr
opyi
eldunder
wel
l-
def i
nedandspecifi
edsyst
emsofmanagementofi
nput
sand
env
ironmentalcondi
ti
ons.

Essent
ialNut
ri
ent
s
EssentialNutrientsist he numberofel ements consider
ed
essent i
alforthegrowt hofhigherpl antsnow17el ementsareknown
tobeessent i
alnutr
ientsforplants.I
nr elat
ivel
yl argeamounts,thesoil
suppliesni t
rogen,phosphorus,pot assium,cal cium,magnesi um and
sulphurt heseareof tencall
edt hemacr onutr
ient s.I
nrelat
ivel
ysmal l
amount s, t
hesoilsuppli
esiron,manganese, boron, moly
bdenum,

1
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

copper,zi
nc,chl
orine,and cobal
t,t
heso-call
ed mi
cronut
ri
ents.
Nutri
entsmustbeav ai
labl
enotonl
yinsuf
fi
cientamountsbutal
so
i
nappr opr
iat
erat
ios.

Essent
ialnut
ri
ent
srequi
redbypl
ant
s
Maj
orNut
ri
ent
s Mi
norNut
ri
ent
s(Tr
aceEl
ement
s)
Car
bon(
C) Mol
ybdenum (
Mo)
Hy
drogen(
H) Copper(
Cu)
Oxy
gen(
O) Bor
on(
B)
Ni
tr
ogen(
N) Manganese(
Mn)
Phosphor
us(
P) I
ron(
Fe)
Pot
assi
um (
K) Zi
nc(
Zn)
Sul
phur(
S)
Cal
cium (
Ca)
Magnesi
um (
Mg)

Hist
oryofdev el
opmentofsoilfer
til
ity
Franci
s Bacon (
1591-1624)suggested t hatt he pr
inci
ple
nour
ishmentofplant
swaswat erandt hemainpur poseofthesoil
wastokeepplantser
ectandt
opr otectfr
om heatandcol d.
JanBapt
ist
eVanHel mont(1577–1644)wasr
epor
tedt
hat
wat
erwassol
enutr
ientofpl
ant
s.
Anthur Young (1741 – 1820) an Engl i
sh agricul
turi
st
conductedpotexperi
mentusi
ngBar l
eyasat estcr
opundersand
cult
urecondit
ion.Headdedchar
coal,t
rai
noil,poult
rydung,spiri
ts
ofwi ne,ostershell
s and numerous othermat eri
als and he
conductedthatsomeofthemateri
alswerepr oducedhigherplant
growth.
Pri
est
ly(
1800)est
abl
i
shedt
heessent
ial
i
tyofO2f
ort
hepl
ant
gr
owth.

2
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

J.B.Boussi
ngaul
t(1802-
1882)French chemistconduct
ed
fi
eld exper
imentand mai
ntai
ned bal
ance sheet
.He was f i
rst
sci
entist

J.
B.LawesandJ.H.Gi lber
t(1843)establ
ishedpermanent
manurial experi
ment at Rothemsted Agricul
tur
al exper
iment
stat
ionatEngl and.Theyconductedfi
eldexperi
mentsfortwelve
year
s.

Essent
ial
it
yoft
heel
ement
sest
abl
ishedby
Carbon :Pri
estly(1800)
Nit
rogen :Theodor eDesaussur
e(1804)
Ca,Mg,K,S :Carlsprengel(
1839)
Phosphor us :VonLi ebig( 1844)
I
ron( Fe) :E.Greiss( 1844)
Manganese( Mn) :J.
S.Har gue( 1922)
Zi
nc( Zn) :SommerandLi pman( 1926)
Copper( Cu) :Sommer ,LipmanandMcKenny( 1931)
Molybdenum ( Mo) :ArnonandSt out(1939)
Sodium ( Na) :Brownel l
andwood( 1957)
Cobal t(
Co) :AhamedandEv ans(1959)
Boron( B) :Warrington( 1923)
Chlorine(Cl) :Broyer(1954)
Nickel :Brownet .al.(1987)

Classi
fi
cat
ionofEssenti
alElements
Basedontheamountr equi
redbytheplant
yMaj ornut
ri
ents–requir
edinlar
gequant
it
ieseg.N,
P,K
ySecondar
ynutri
ents–requi
redinl
esserquant
it
iescompar
ed
toMajornut
ri
entseg.Ca,
Mg, S
yMi
cronut
ri
ent
s-r
equi
redi
ntr
acequant
it
ieseg.Fe,
Mn,
Zn,
Cu,
B,
Mo

3
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Basedont
her
oleofel
ementi
npl
antsy
stem
St
ruct
ural
Element
s C,
H,O
Accessor
yst
ruct
ural
element
s N,
P,S
Regul
ator&Car
ri
ers K,
Ca,
Mg
Cat
aly
st&Act
ivat
ors Fe,
Mn,
Zn,
Cu,
Mo,
Cl,
B

Cr
it
eri
aofEssent
ial
it
yofNut
ri
ent
s
Thi
sconceptwaspr opoundedbyAr nonandStout(1939)and
theyconsidered 16 el
ements essenti
alforplantnut
ri
ti
on.Foran
elementber egar
ded asan essentialnutr
ient
,itmustsati
sfythe
foll
owingcri
teri
a:

yA defi
ciency ofan essent
ialnutr
ientel
ementmakes it
i
mpossiblef orthe pl
antto compl et
ethe v
eget
ati
ve or
r
eproducti
vestageofi
tsl
if
ecy cl
e.
yThedefici
encyofanelementi
sveryspeci
fi
ctotheelementi
n
quest
ionanddef i
ciencycanbecorr
ected/pr
event
edonlyby
suppl
yingthatpar
ti
cularel
ement
.
yThe el
ementmustdi rect
ly be i
nvol
ved inthe nutr
it
ion and
metabol
ism oftheplantandhav eadirecti
nfl
uenceonpl ant
apartfrom it
s possible ef
fectsin corr
ect
ing some mi cro-
biol
ogi
calorchemicalcondi t
ionsofthesoilorot herculture
medium.

Funct
ionoftheplant
y Element
sthatpr
ovi
debasi
cst
ruct
uret
othepl
ant–C,
H,O.
yEl
ementsuseful
inenergystorage,t
ransf
erandbondi
ng–N,S
&Pt heseareaccessorystr
ucturalel
ementswhicharemor
e
act
iveandvi
talf
orli
vingti
ssues.
yElementsnecessar
yforchangebal
ance–K,Ca&Mg,actas
regul
atorsandcarr
ier
.
yEl ementsinvol
vedinenzy
meacti
vati
onandelect
ron
t
ranspor
ts.
Fe,
Mg, Cu,Zn,B,
Mo&Cl ar
ecat
aly
sersandacti
vat
ors.

4
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Pri
mar y( Macr o)Nutri
ents
Primary( macr o)nut r
ient
s ar
e nitrogen,phosphorus,and
potassium.They ar ethe mostf requentl
yr equi
red in a crop
fer
til
iz
at i
on program.Also,t heyareneed i nthegr eat
estt otal
quantit
ybypl antsasfert
il
izer.

Nitrogenf unct ion

yNecessar yf orf ormat i
onofami noaci ds, t
hebui l
dingblocksof
protein
yEssent i
al forpl antcelldivi
sion, vit
alf orplantgrowt h
yDi rectlyinv olvedi n
phot osynthesi syNecessar y
componentofv i
tami ns
yAi dsi npr oduct ionanduseof
carbohy dratesy Affectsener gyr eact i
ons
i
nt hepl ant
Sympt oms
Plants whi ch hav e Ni tr
ogen f oronl yl imit
ed gr owth,may
exhibitchlorosi sespeci allyintheol derl eav es.Inseverecases, t
he
l
eav esf i
rsty ellowandt hent anast heydi e.Somepl ants(tomatoes,
mai ze)mayexhi bitapur pli
shcol our ationoft hestems,pet iol
es
andont heunder sideoft heirl
eav es.

GeneralDefi
ciencysy mpt
omsofni trogen(N)
I
ncasewhenN i sinadequatef orcropsi .
e.theybecome
def
ici
entinni
trogen,t
helossofNf r
om chloropl
astswil
lresul
tina
yel
l
owingofolderleavesasanindicatorofNdefici
ency.

Themostt ypicalsy mpt omsar el eafchl orosis,wit

houtN
addition i
tbecomeshar mfulwhen l eavestur n brown and di e
(cal
lednecr osi
s).Upperl eav esr emai
nnor malgr eenwhi l
eol der
l
eav es become st unted and y el
low (chl
orotic).As mobi li
tyof
nit
rogeni sgood,r e-ut
il
izati
onwi l
loccur:proteinsi nolderleaves
are conv er
ted i
nto solublef orms and t r
anspor ted toy ounger
l
eav esinordertoreducedef iciency.

5
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Excess(
toxi
cit
y)sy
mpt
oms
Ont heotherhand,
inthecaseofexcessnit
rogenwecanobserve
vi
gorous vegetati
ve gr
owth coupl
ed with dar
k green col
our
.The
vegetat
ive gr
owt his prol
onged and crop maturi
tyis somewhat
delay
ed.

Phosphorusfuncti
on
yI nvol
vedinphot osynt
hesi
s,respi
rat
ion,ener
gyst
orageand
t
ransf
er,
celldi
vi
sionandenlar
gement
y Pr
omot
esear
lyr
ootf
ormat
ionandgr
owt
h
y I
mpr
ovesqual
i
tyoff
rui
ts,
veget
abl
es,
andgr
ains
y Vi
tal
toseedf
ormat
ion
yHel
pspl
ant
ssur
viv
ehar
shwi
ntercondi
ti
ons
y I
ncr
easeswat
er-
useef
fi
ciency
yHast
ensmat
uri
ty
Symptoms
Plant
sexhibi
tstunt
edgr
owt
handl
eavesar
eoft
endar
kgreen
i
ncolouroldestl
eav
esbecomedar
kbrownastheydi
e.Mat
urit
y
maybedelayed.

6
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Defici
encysympt omsofphosphor us
Thedeficiencyofphosphor usi schar
acterizedbyretarded,
slowoveral
lgrowthandweakpl ants.Itcanbev i
suall
yobservedby
theappearanceoft y
picaldar
kgr een col
ourwi t
h ol
derleaves
showingapur plediscolor
ati
on(becauseanthocyansareproduced
i
ngr eat
eramount s).

Sincephosphor
usismobil
ei nthepl
ant,defi
ciencysymptoms
i
nit
ial
ly occurint he ol
dertissues (i
ndi
cating the abil
i
tyf or
r
eutil
izati
on)asPistr
ansl
ocat
edt otheacti
vemer i
stemati
cpar t
s.

Excess(toxi
cit
y)symptoms
Theexcessofphosphorusappearsmainl
yinthef or
m of
micronut
ri
entdefi
ci
encymost
lyf
ori
ron,zi
ncandmanganese.

Pot
assium functi
on
yCar bohydr
ate metaboli
sm and t
he br
eak down and
tr
anslocat
ionofst
arches
yI
ncr
easesphot
osy
nthesi
s
yI
ncr
easeswat
er-
useef
fi
ciency
yEssent
ial
topr
otei
nsy
nthesi
s
yI
mpor
tanti
nfr
uitf
ormat
ion

7
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

yAct
ivat
esenzy
mesandcont
rol
sthei
rreact
ionr
ates
yI
mpr
oveswi
nterhar
diness
y I
ncr
easesdi
seaser
esi
stance
y I
mpr
ovesqual
i
tyofseedsandf
rui
t
Sympt oms
Cropssufferi
ngt hi
sdeficiencyappearscor chedar oundthe
edges and surfaces areirr
egul ar
ly chl
orot
ic.I nlegumes,t he
chl
oroticspot
sf orm pat
ter
nsar oundtheleafedges.Cer ealgrai
ns
devel
opweakst al
ksandt heirr oot
smaybecomemor epr oneto
i
nfecti
onbyr ootrott
ingorganisms.Theset wof actor
smayr esul
t
i
ncollapseofthecropbywi ndorr ai
n.

Nicholas(1961)pr oposedtheter
mf unct
ionalnut
ri
entforany
mineralnutri
entthatfunctionsinpl
antmetaboli
sm whetherornot
i
tsactionisspecifi
c.E.g.:Na,Co,VaandSi.

Nut
ri
entDef
ici
encyandToxi
cit
ySy
mpt
oms
Whendefici
encysy mptomsdev eloponolderl
eaves:itshows
t
hebet
termobil
it
yandt husther
e-ut
il
izati
oni.
e.t
herapi
dt r
ansportof
t
heel
ement(e.
g.nit
rogen)fr
om t
heolderleav
estotheyoungerones.

8
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

When def ici

encysympt omsappearon y oungerl
eaves:it
showst hatthenutri
enti
srat
herimmobil
eandcannotbere-ut
il
ized
(t
ransported)fr
om theol
derleavest
otheyoungerleav
es.

Acute defi
ciency:undert his conditi
on,nutr
ientlevelis
extremelylow,associ ated wi
th severesy mptomsand strongl
y
reducedgr owth.Additionoft hedef i
cientel
ementwi l
lresul
tin
signif
icanti
ncreasesingr owt
h,devel
opmentandcr opyiel
d.

Mar gi
nalorlat
entdefi
ciency
:alsoknownas“
hiddenhunger
”.
Atthislevel
,yi
eldlossesar
econsi der
abl
ecompar
edt oadequat
e
nut
rientsuppl
ylevel.

Import
anceof“ cri
ticalr
ange”:t
hisi
nter
valisreferredasthe
concent
rati
oni nthepl antbelow whi
chay iel
dr esponset othe
appl
iednutri
entoccurs.Thetablebel
owshowst hepot assi
um and
phosphorusrangesforcorn.

TheSteenber
geffect
:knownunderext
remedef i
ciency
,rapi
d
y
iel
dincr
easecancausesomedecr
easesinnutr
ientconcentr
ati
on.

Funct
ionsofessent
ial
nut
ri
ent
sinpl
ant
s
Nut
ri
ent
s Functi
ons
Basi c
mol ecular componentof car bohydr
ates,
Car
bon
proteins,li
pidsandnucl eicacids
Itoccur sinall t heor gani
c compoundsofl ivi
ng
Hy
drogen
organisms
Thisel ementpl aysacent r
alrolei
npl ant
met abolism.It
i
sv eryi mpor t
antinionicbalanceast hemai n
Oxy
gen reducing
agentandpl aysakeyr oleinenergyr elati
onsof
cell
s.
Itplaysasi gnifi
cantroleinthesynthesi sof
i
mpor tant
organiccompounds, ami noacids,proteins,nucl
i
c
Ni
tr
ogen acids
(RNA, DNA)enzy mes.
9
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Iti
sanimpor
tantcomponentofpr
otei
nand
enzymes
Phosphor
ousnucl
i
caci
ds(
DNAandRNA)andphy
tin.Pi
sal
soi
nvol
ved
i
nvar
iousener
gyt
ranf
err
eact
ionof(
ATPand
ADP)
Ithelpsinosmoti
candregul
ati
on.Kisacofact
oror
Pot
assi
um acti
v atorf
ormanyenzy
mesofcar bohy
drat
esand
proteinmetabol
i
sm
I
tisinvol
vedincel
ldiv
isionandplaysamajorrol
ein
t
he
Cal
cium
maintenanceofmembr aneint
egrit
y
I
tisacomponentofchl orophyl
landacofactorf
or
Magnesium
manyenzy mati
creacti
ons
Si
mil
artoP,i
tisi
nvol
vedinplantcel
lener
get
ics.I
t
Sul
phur
pl
aysanimpor
tantr
olei
nplantli
pidsynt
hesi
s
Itisessenti
alcomponentofmanyhemenonheme
i
r onenzymesandcar r
ier
s,i
ncludi
ngt hecytochrome
(respi
rator
yelect
ioncarr
ier
s)andt hefer
redoxins.
I
ron The
l
at t
erareinvol
vedinkeymet abol
i
cf unct
ionssuch
as
nitr
ogenf i
xati
on,
photosynt
hesisandelectr
on
transf
er
Iti
sanessent
ial
componentofseveralenzy
mes
Zi
nc
syst
ems(dehydr
ogenase,
prot
einases)
I
tisi
nvolvedintheO2evolvi
ngsy
stem of
phot
osynthesis
Manganese andisacomponentoft heenzymesar gi
naseand
phot
osphot ransf
erees.
Iti
saconsti
tuentofanumberofimportant
enzymes,
i
ncludi
ngcyetochr
omeoxidase.Ascor
bicacid
Copper oxi
dase
andlact
ase
10
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Thespecif
icbi
ochemicalfunct
ionofbor
onis
unknown,
butitmaybeinvol
vedincarbohydr
atemetabol
i
sm
Bor
on and
thesynt
hesisofcel
lwallcomponents
I
tisrequir
edfort
henormal assimi
lat
ionofni
trogen
Mol
ybdenum i
nplants.I
tisanessent
ialcomponentonnitr
ate
r
eductaseaswellasnit
rogenfixi
ngenzyme
I
tst
imulatesbiol
ogicalni
tr
ogenfi
xat
ionofbact
eri
a
Vanadi
um (
Azotobacter
,Rhizobi
um)simil
arl
ytoMoandalso
i
mportanttofoodchain
Iti
sessentialforphotosynthesi
sandasanactivat
or
of
enzymesinv olvedi
nspl i
tt
ingwater
.Ital
sofunct
ions
Chl
ori
ne i
n
osmoregulationofplantsgrowingonsali
nesoil
s
11
 Chapt
er2

Cal
cium,Magnesi
um, Sul
phurandMicr
onut
rient
s
–Funct
ions,
Defi
ciencyandToxi
cit
ySymptoms

Thesecondarynut
ri
entsarecal
cium, magnesium andSulphur
.
Formostcrops,theset
hreeareneededi nlesseramountsthatthe
pri
mary nutri
ent
s.They ar e growi
ng i ni mpor t
ance i
n cr op
fer
ti
li
zati
onprogramsduet omor est r
ingentcleanairstandards
andeffor
tstoimprovet
heenvir
onment .

Calcium
Calci
um ispr esenti nleavesascalcium pect at
e.Calcium is
requiredasacof actorbysomeenzy mesinvolvedinthehy drol
ysis
ofATPandphosphol i
pids.Iti
sv eryimportantforchr omosome
fl
exibili
tyandcelldivisi
on.Calci
um helpsintheupt akeofN, Fe,Zn,
MnandBor on.Goodcal cium nutr
it
ionisapre-requisi
teforhealthy
orchar dpart
icul
arl
yci tr
us.Excessofcalci
um inducesal kal
ini
tyand
reducesupt akeofot hernutri
ents.

12
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Funct
ions
y Uti
li
zedf
orCont
inuouscel
ldi
vi
sionand
f
ormat
iony
Inv
olv
edi
nni
tr
ogenmet
abol
i
sm
yReducespl
antr
espi
rat
ion
yAidst
ransl
ocat
ionofphot
osy
nthesi
sfr
om l
eav
est
ofr
uit
ing
or
gans
yI
ncr
easesf
rui
tset
yEssent
ial
fornutdev
elopmenti
n
peanut
sySt
imul
atesmi
crobi
alact
ivi
ty

DeficiencySy mpt oms

Cal ci
um def i
ciencycausesdwar fi
ngofpl ants.Twigsmaydi e,
l
eavesabsci se.Cal cium deficiencysy mpt omsappeari ni
tial
lyas
l
ocalizedt issuenecr osisleadingt ostuntedpl antgrowth,necroti
c
l
eafmar ginsony oungl eavesorcur l
ingoft heleaves,andev entual
deathoft ermi nalbudsandr oottips.Gener all
y,thenew gr owth
andr apidlygr owingt i
ssuesoft hepl antar eaf f
ectedf i
rst.The
matur el eav es ar er arel
yi f ev er affected because cal cium
accumul atest ohighconcent rationsinolderleaves.

Magnesium
Magnesium i
sconst
it
uentofchl
orophyl
landprot
oplasm.I
tis
i
nvol
vedinphot
osynt
hesi
s.Iti
sanacti
vatorofmanyenzymes.Mg
i
srequi
rednon-
speci
fi
cal
l
ybylargenumberofenzymesinvol
vedin

13
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

phosphatetransfer
.Iti
sessent
ialf
orfor
mationofcarbohy
drat
es,
fatsandvit
ami ns.I
talsost
imul
atesphosphorusupt
akeand
transpor
t.

Funct i
ons
y Keyel ementofchlorophyl
lproduct
ion
y I mpr ovesuti
li
zati
onandmobi li
tyof
phosphor usy Act ivat
orandcomponentof
manypl antenzy mesy Directl
yrelat
edt
o
grasstetany
yI ncreasesironuti
lizati
oninplants
y I nfl
uencesearli
nessanduni for
mityofmat
uri
ty

Def i
ciencySy mptoms
Magnesi um isverymobi lehencet hedef iciencysympt oms
fi
rstappeari n ol
derleaves.The mostcommon sy mptom i s
yell
owi ngofleafmargi
nsandt henlamina,commonl yref
erredas
bronzingorcopperleaf.They ell
owingstartsfrom t hebaseal ong
themi dr i
bsofmat ur
el eaves.They el
l
ow ar eaenl argeanduni te,
onlythet ipandt hebaseoft heleafremai ngr een,showingan
i
nv er
tedv -
shapedwedgear eapointedont hemidr i
b.

Sul
phur
Sul
phuris presentin suffi
cientquant i
tyinl eaves.Itisa
componentofcy
stine,methi
onine,prot
einsandf at
tyacids.Sul
phuri
s
al
so a const i
tuent of l ipoic acid coenzy mes-A, t hi
amine,
pyr
ophosphat
e,glutat
hione,biot
in,adenosine-5'-phosphosulphat
e
and3'
14
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Phosphoadenosi
ne-5'-phosphosulphat
e.Sulphurret
ardspr
otei
n
synt
hesis,
impart
shardnessandvigourtotheplant
s.

Functi
ons
yI nt
egr
alpar
tofami
noaci
ds
yHel
psdev
elopenzy
mesandv
itami
ns
yPr
omot
esnodul
efor
mat
iononl
egumes
yAi
dsi
nseedpr
oduct
ion
yNecessar
yinchl
orophy
llf
ormat
ion

DeficiencySy mptoms
Itwoul dbeexpect edt hatt heear l
i
estsy mpt omswoul dfi
rst
appearasal i
ghtgr eencolouringi nthey oungleav es.Howev er
,in
practi
ce,we’ v
er epeatedlynot icedthatt hesy mpt omswer et he
mostobv i
ousintheol derl
eav es.Thel eafchlorosi
sex hi
bit
edbyS-
defi
ciencyusuall
yr esemblesni trogendeficiency.

Micronutr
ients
The micronut
rients are boron,copper,ir
on,manganese,
molybdenum andzinc.Theseplantfoodelementsareusedinv ery
small amounts, but t hey are just as i
mpor tant to pl
ant
devel
opmentandpr ofit
ablecropproduct
ionasthemaj ornut
ri
ents.
Especi
all
y,theywor k“ behi
ndt hescene”asact i
vatorsofmany
pl
antfuncti
ons.

15
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Boron
Funct
ions
yEssentialofger
minat
ionofpol
l
engr
ainsandgr
owt
hofpol
l
en
t
ubes
yEssent
ial
forseedandcel
lwal
l
f
ormat
ionyPr
omot
esmat
uri
ty
y
Necessar
yforsugar
t
ransl
ocat
iony
Af
fect
sni
tr
ogen
andcar
bohy
drat
e
yI
ti simmobi lei nplantsystem.Itplaysar oleinf l
oweri
ng,
poll
enger mination,poll
entubegrowthandf r
uit
ing.Ithelpsi
n
the translocation of sugars f r
om l eaves to enhance
photosynthesis.Boronalsoactsasacat al
ystinphy si
ologi
cal
processesv i
z,celldiv
isi
on,di
ff
erenti
ati
onanddev elopment.

Def
iciencySy mptoms
yBor ondef i
ciencyismostwidespreadmi cronutri
entdefici
ency
aroundt hewor l
dandcausesl argelossesincr oppr oducti
on
and crop qual i
ty.Bor
on defici
encyaf fectsv egetati
ve and
reproducti
vegr owthofplants,result
ingini nhibi
tionofcel l
expansion,deathofmerist
em, andreducedf ert
il
ity
.
yThet er
minalbudsf ai
ltospr outandt wi
gsshow di eback.
Terminall
eavesturnnecroti
c,shedpr ematurel
y-r
osett
ingand
apicalmeri
stemsturnblack.Leavesar edarkgreen,boatl
ike,
brit
tl
eandf al
learl
y.Frui
tsshow gummygr anul
esinthefruit
albedowithhardfruit
s.Seedsf ailtodev elopwithdeposits
aroundthefrui
taxi
s.Theski nofcitr
ust hefrui
tbecomehar d.
Insomecitruscul
ti
varsfrui
tsmaycr ack.

16
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Copper
Funct
ions
yCat al
yzessev
eral
plantpr
ocesses
yMaj
orf
unct
ioni
nphot
osy
nthesi
s
yMaj
orf
unct
ioni
nrepr
oduct
ivest
ages
yI
ndi
rectr
olei
nchl
orophy
llpr
oduct
ion
yI
ncr
easessugarcont
ent
yI
ntensi
fi
escol
our
yI
mpr
ovesf
lav
ouroff
rui
tsandv
eget
abl
es

Def
iciencySy mpt oms:
yUnderf i
eldcondi t
ioniti
sver
ydi ffi
cul
tt osaythattheplantis
defici
enti n Cu.Copperdef iciency can only be detect
ed
throughbi ochemicalmeans.Thet otalcopperoft hel
eav es
may not l imitf or Cu deficiency. Defi
ciency is mor e
pronouncedwi t
hhi ghpr
opor
ti
onofi ronandmanganese.
yTher educedgrowthandachangei ncolourofthef oli
age.
Twigsbecomeangul arinshapeandS- shapedmoreorl ess
droopingwithdarkgreenf
oliage.I
nsevereCudefi
ciencyt he
ti
psofnewshoot slookshr
iveledandf
inal
lyshedof
f,foll
owed
byspr out
ingofl
owerbuds.

17
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

yThepl antsshow abushygr owth.Dieback,gum pocket sat

nodesoft wigsandbr ownexcr eti
onsonf rui
tar ecommon
copperdef ici
encysy mptoms.Fr uitshavethickpeel,lackjui
ce
andhav einsipi
dt asteandr indcr acki
ng.Insev eredef i
ci
ency
twigsr emai ncov eredwi thr eddishbrowndr oplet
sofgum.
Fruit
smayspl i
tatthebl ossom endpar ti
cularl
yinci t
rusfrui
ts.
Highsoi lpH nor mal l
ycauseCudef ici
encyi nfruitplantson
thesesoi l
s.
yCopperexcesscausereducedpl
antandrootgr
owth,wi
thl
ess
branchi
ng.Rootlet
s become moret hi
ck and abnor
malin
shape.
Sy
mptomsofDef i
ciency
yYoung leav
es become dark green,twist
ed and defor
med.
Necr
oti
c spot
s mayappear .In grains and gr
asses,seed
pr
oducti
onisreduced and seed headsmaybewhi teand
empty.

Ir
on
Funct
ions
yPr omotesf
ormat
ionofchl
orophy
ll
y Act
sasanoxy
gencar
ri
er
y React
ionsi
nvol
vi
ngcel
ldi
vi
si
onandgr
owt
h
Amongthemi cro-
nut
ri
ent
sir
onisabundant
lypr
esentinsoils.
Ir
onisaconsti
tuentofcyt
ochr
omesandnon-
haemeironprot
eins.It
acts
18
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

asa cat alystinthef or

mat i
on ofchlor
ophylland co-fact
orof
severalenzy mes.Ithelps inv ar
ious r
eacti
ons ofr espir
ation,
photosynthesisandreducti
onofni t
rat
esandsul phates.Ithasa
rol
ei nN2- f
ixati
onalso.Thei mprovedFe-polyfl
avonoidact i
vity
enhances the biosy
nthesis ofpigmentslike xant
hophy l
ls and
carotenoi
ds.

Defici
encySy mpt oms
Ir
ondef iciencycauseschl orosi
sinterminall
eaves.Insevere
casesthef inenet workofv einsi sdi
sti
ncti
velygreenandl amina
become y ell
ow.Twi g die back due to Fe defici
encyi s most
commoni nci t
rus.Acutedeficiencycausessmelli
ngofl eavesand
l
eafabsci ssion.TheFe- def
iciencyisdiffi
cul
ttodi st
inguishfr
om
Mn-defi
ciency .

Excessofironhasr ar
elybeennot i
cedinthef r
uitplants,thi
s
maybeduet olesssolubi
li
tyofFei nt hesoi
lsoluti
on.Howev er,
somet oxici
tyhasbeenf oundinci tr
uswher eintervenialareas
showsy el
lowlesionsdeposi
tedont heleafsur
face.HighP, Mn, Cu
orZninsoi l
cancauseIrondefi
ciency.

Youngleav esdev elopchlor

osi
si nthei nt
erveinalareaswhi ch
maydev el
opintowhi teleaveswit
hnecroti
cspot s.Stuntedgrowth.In
ani
mals,iron defi
ciencyr esul
tsin anaemia,wast i
ng and eventual
deat
h.
19
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Manganese
Funct
ions
y Mni si
nvol
vedi
nthepr
oduct
ionofami
noaci
dsandpr
otei
ns.
y Funct
ionsasapar
tofcer
tai
nenzy
mesy
stems
y Ai
dsi
nchl
orophy
llsy
nthesi
s
y I
ncr
easest
heav
ail
abi
l
ityofPandCA
yManganeseaccumul
atesi
nleav
esmor
ethani
nseeds.
yI
tisrequir
ed forphotosynthet
ic ev
oluti
on ofO2,ni
tr
ogen
met
aboli
sm, chl
orophy
llsy
nthesi
sandbr eakdown.
yI
ti sr equir
ed for t
he activi
ty of some dehy dr
ogenase,
decar
boxy l
ase, ki
nase, oxidase, peroxi
dase, and non-
speci
fi
call
ybyotherdival
entcati
onacti
vatedenzymes.
Def
iciencySy mptoms:
yDef ici
ency sy mpt oms appearsoon af tert he leafi sf ull
y
expanded and per si
stsf or long.Young l eaves become
chloroti
cjustli
kei nZndef i
ciency,wit
htheonl ydi f
ferencethat
therei s no roset ti
ng.The y oungerl eaves show mot t
led
chlorosi
swi thgr eenv ei
nsandmesophy l
ltissuey el
low or
whitet his mayspr ead to oldl eav
es.Mn def i
ciencyal so
resemblesFedef ici
ency,withonl ydif
ferencet hatt hear ea
neart hev ei
nsr emai nsgreeni nMndef ici
ency .Wi t
hsev ere
defici
ency,dev el
opsl ightgreent odullpalegr eenspl otches
betweenmai nlateralvei
ns.
yExcessofMni nsoili
sduet omor esol ubi
l
ityofMninacidi
c
conditi
ons.Useofacidformingfer
til
izersandregul
arspr
ays
ofMnSO4 f ormany y ears can cause Mn t oxi
ci
ty.The
appearanceofbrownspot sonl eavescoupl edwit
hgrowth
retar
dati
onandr ootdecayandf i
nall
yl eafabsci
ssi
onisthe
resul
tofMnt oxi
cit
y.
ySy mptomsv ar
ywithspeci
esi ncer
eal
s– grey– whi
tespot
s,
flecks and st
ri
pes may appearinthe i
nter
vei
nalar
eas.In
legumes,

20
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

i
ntervei
nalchlorosi
sofy oungandmi ddl
eagedl eav
esand
ti
ssuemayr apidlybecomenecrot
ic.Seeddisor
der
se.g.“
spl
i
t
seed”or“marshspot ”maydevel
op.

Molybdenum
Functi
ons
yRequi r
ed tof or
m the enzyme “
nit
rat
ereduct
ase” whi
ch
r
educesni
tr
atestoammonium i
npl
ant
yAi
dsi
nthef
ormat
ionofl
egumenodul
es
yNeededt
oconv
erti
nor
gani
cphosphat
est
oor
gani
cfor
msi
n
thepl
ant
yMolybdenum play
sani mportantrol
ei nni
tr
ogenmet aboli
sm.
Iti
saconst it
uentofnitr
atereductaseandxanthineoxidase.
Moassi st
sint heformati
onofpr otei
ns,st
arch,aminoacids
andv it
amins.Ithelpsint hefixati
onofat mospheri
cN i n
l
egumes.

Def
ici
encySy mptoms:
yThel eafbl
ademayfai
ltoexpandi
nthegr
owi
ngl
eav
es.Yel
l
ow
spotsdeveloponthelaminaandgum ont hel
owerleafsurface
whichturnsblack.Largeinter
venialchlor
oti
cspotsappearon
matureleaves.Thesev er
elyaffectedleavesmayf allandtree
maybecomecompl etelydefol
iated.I
nci t
rusfr
uit
sl argespots
si
mi l
artothosecausedbysun- burnappear.Theyel
lowpat ches
onleaves

21
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

coal
escei
ntol
argerar
eas,ext
endi
ngal
lal
ongtheleafmargi
n,
l
eavi
ngthecentr
alport
ionyel
lowi
shgr
een.Notoxici
tyofMo
hasbeenr
eport
edinfr
uittr
ees.

Zinc
Functi
ons
y Aidspl
antgr
owt
hhor
monesandenzy
mesy
stem
yNecessar
yforchl
orophy
ll
pr
oduct
ionyNecessar
yfor
car
bohy
drat
efor
mat
ionyNecessar
y
f
orst
archf
ormat
ionyAi
dsi
nseed
f
ormat
ion
yZi
ncisrequi
redforthesy
nthesi
soft r
yptophanwhi
chi
sa
pr
ecur
sorofauxi
n.I
ndol
eaceti
cacid(
IAA).
yI
tregulatest
heequi
l
ibr
ium bet
weenCar
bondi
oxi
de,
wat
erand
carbonicaci
d.
yZi
nc i s essenti
al for car
bohydr
ate and phosphor
us
metabol
ism andsynt
hesi
sofpr
otei
ns.

Def
ici
encySymptoms:
yA variet
y ofsympt
oms appeari
nthe f
oli
age due t
o zi
nc
defici
ency.It
s defi
ciency causes short
eni
ng of inter
nodes,
producessmallandnarrowleaves.Atypi
cali
nter
veni
alchlor
osi
s
i
nt erminal
young

22
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

l
eaves.Acut
edefi
ci
encycausesr
osset
ti
ngt
ermi
nal
leav
esar
e
ar
rangedinwhor
ls.
yWhitishchloroticst
reaksappearbetweenv ei
nsinolderleaves
and whi t
ening ofupperl eaves,character
ized byirr
egul ar
greenbandsal ongthemidribandmai nVeinonabackgr ound
oflighty ell
ow toalmostwhi t
e.Thel eavesbecomepoi nted,
narrowandst andupright
.Thedi e-backoftwigsstar
ts.Ifthe
defi
ci encyisnotcheckedt r
eesbecomef i
ll
edwithdeadwood.
Treesbecomeunpr oducti
ve.
yI
nci t
rusZndef i
ciencyshowsi r
regul
arandchl
orot
icleafspots
causingmot tl
el eaf.Thear eanearmidri
bandlateralv ei
ns
remaingreen,ther estoft heareabecomeverypaley ell
ow.
Rootgrowt hgetsr est
rict
ed.Thesymptom maydisappearas
theseasonadv ances.Hi ghlev
elsP,CaandMgi nsoilinduce
zincdefi
ciencyinplants.

23
 Chapt
er3

ConceptsandAppr oachesofSoi l
Fert
il
it
yEvaluation–Li ebig’sLaw,
Mi
tscher
li
ch’
sLawandBr aysNut
’ r
ient
Mobil
it
yConcept -Defi
ciencySy mptoms,
Ti
ssueAnalysis,Biol
ogicalTest sand
Chemi calTest s

Justusv onLiebig’
s
Law oftheMi ni
mum st atest haty i
eldi sproporti
onaltothe
amountoft hemostl i
miti
ngnut r
ient,whichev ernutr
ientitmaybe.
From t
his,i
tmaybei nfer
redthatifthedef i
cientnutri
entissuppl
i
ed,
yiel
dsmaybei mpr ovedt othepoi ntt hatsomeot hernutri
entis
neededingreaterquant i
tyt
hant hesoi l
canpr ovi
de,andtheLawof
theMini
mum woul dapplyinturntot hatnutrient.

24
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

yCropyiel
di sl
imitedbythemostli
mit
ingfactor.Whenthat
fact
orisr emoved,yi
eldisl
i
mitedbyt he2nd mostl
imi
ting
fact
or,
andsoon.
yHestat
edthatt
henutr
ientpr
esenti
nleastr
elat
iveamounti
s
thel
i
miti
ngnutr
ient
.
y
Soi
lcont
ained enough N t
o pr
oduce 50
bu/
acy
Soi
lcont
ainedenoughKt
opr
oduce
70 bu/
acy
Soi
lcont
ained enough P t
o
pr
oduce60bu/
acy
Nwoul
dbet
hel
i
mit
ing
nut
ri
ent
yThecropusesupal loft
hedefi
ci
entnut
ri
enti
nthesoi
lmaking
they i
eld di
rect
lypr
opor
ti
onalt
ot heamountofthedef
ici
ent
nutr
ient
.

Mitscherli
ch’ smodel
Mitscher l
ich(1909)dev elopedamodelf ortheex pressi
onof
growthratef ordifferentl
evelsofanessent i
alimmobi l
enut ri
entin
thesoilandwasf urtherrefi
nedf rom timet otime.Mi tscherl
ich’
s
l
aw statest hatt hei ncr
easeiny ieldperuni tofaddednut ri
entis
proport
ionalt ot hedi ff
erencebet weent hemaxi mum at tai
nable
andtheact ualy i
eld.Itcanbewr itt
enasdy/dx=C( A-
y ).Wher e,
y
i
sy i
eldobtainedwi thxunitsoffertili
zerapplicati
on;Aismaxi mum
asymptoticyieldandCi stheferti
li
z ereff
iciencyfactor.

Mi
tscher
li
ch-
Braymodel
Bray(1954)pr oposedt he‘nutr
ientmobi li
tyconcept’whi chhas
broughtoutt hefeasibil
i
tyofsuppor ti
ngeffi
ciencyf act
orsforsoi land
fert
il
izer f
orms of r el
ati
velyi mmobi l
e nut ri
ents.Accor dingly he
modi fi
ed the Mi t
scherli
ch equation by int
r oducing ef
ficiency co-
effi
cienttosoi ltestandappl i
edf ormsofnut ri
ents.Themodi fi
ed
equat i
onislog(A-y)=l ogA-C1b-Cxwher e,Aismaxi mum y i
eld( 100%
yiel
d)ofcropswi thallnutr
ientsatadequatelev el
s;yistheper centage
yiel
dofcr opswi thallnutri
entsexceptt henut ri
entbeingst udied;C1
andCar et
he

25
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

propor
tional
i
tyfactorforsoilandf erti
l
izernut
rient
s,respecti
vel
y
andxi st hedoseoff er
ti
li
zerapplied.Brayalsorecognizedthe
l
imitat
ions oft he appli
cabi
li
ty oft hi
s concepti nr el
ati
on to
vari
ati
oninplanttypeandculti
vat
ionmet hods.

Nut rientdef i
ciencysympt omsofpl ant
s
Itisaqual i
tati
vemeasurementofav ai
labil
it
yofplantnutr
ients.
Itisthev isualmet hodofeval
uat i
ngsoi
lfer
til
ityanddi
agnosingt he
mal ady af fect
ing the plant
.An abnor malappear ance oft he
growi ngpl antmaybecausedbyadef i
ciencyofoneormor e
nutrientel ement s.Theappear anceofdef i
ciencysympt omson
plants has been commonl y used as an index ofsoilferti
lit
y
evaluat i
on.

Ifapl antislacking i
napar ti
cularelement,moreorl ess
char acter
ist
icssymptomsmayappear .Thisvi
sualmethodofsoil
ferti
lit
yev al
uati
on isv er
ysi mpl
e,notexpensi ve and doesnot
requi r
eelaborat
eequi pmentbutitbecomesdi f
ficul
ttojudgethe
def i
ciencysymptomsi fmanynutr
ientsareinvol
ved.Insuchcases
i
tr equiresexper
iencedpersontomakepr operj
udgment.

Biol
ogicalmethods
Iti
sconductedforcali
brat
ingt
hecropresponsestoadded
nutr
ient
s.Dif
ferentmethodsareadopt
ed foreval
uati
ng f
ert
il
it
y
stat
usofsoil
.

Fi
eldt
est
s
Thesear emainl
yusedf ordev el
opi
ngf erti
li
zerrecommendat i
ons,
i
.e.thecalibrat
ionofyiel
dl evel
s.Asopposedt ogr eenhousetestsfi
eld
experimentsar econduct edundernat uralcondi ti
ons.Infiel
dt ests
vari
ous t r
eat ments are usual ly assi
gned r andoml yt o an area.
Concer ni
ngt heplotdesignoft heexperiment s,theynormall
ytaket he
shapeofbl ocks.Inordert ogetr eli
abl
er esultsandt odealwi t
ht he
problem ofv ari
ati
onswi thinthet estareathet reatmentsareusual l
y
repl
icatedfourtimes.Thent her esult
softhef ourtestsarestat
isti
call
y

26
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

eval
uated.Howev er,experimentsundernat ur
alconditi
onsalone
arenotalwayssatisfactor
yforsomepur poses.Insuchcasesfiel
d
exper
imentsar eoftenusedi nconjunct
ionwi t
hgr eenhouset
ests
fort
hebet t
errel
iabil
ityandcali
brat
ionofresult
s.

Fi
eldexperi
mentSunfl
ower Fi
eldexper
imentCor
n
(Heli
anthusannuusL.) ZeamaysL.
( )

Gr
eenhouseExper
iment
s
Gr
eenhouse exper i
ment s are used forsev eralst udi
es under
control
ledcondi t
ions.Suchexper i
ment smayser vesev eralpur
poses.
Bycar r
y i
ngoutgr eenhouset estswecan,f orexampl e,quantifyt he
nutri
entav ai
labil
it
yi nsoil
.Theymakei talsopossi blef orust ost udy
thenutrientsupplyingcapaci t
yofsoi l
.Goodex ampl esf orsucht ests
aretheso- call
edexhaust i
onexper i
ment s.Anothergr eatadv antageof
greenhouset estsi sthatt heyalsoal low thestudyoft heexisting
i
nteracti
onsbet weensel ectednutrients.A verypr acticalaspectof
greenhouse t ests - wi th pot enti
all
y f ar-
reachi ng economi c
consequences
-ist hattheyf acil
it
atet he studyoft he eff
iciencyofv ar
ious
nutri
ent/f er
ti
li
zer addi ti
ons.I t
,of course,al so means the
possibil
it
yofstudy i
ngt heresponsest
hatparti
cularcropsmaygive
toincreasi
ngnutrientrates.

27
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

E.A.Mi
tscher
li
ch(
1909)dev
eloped
Gr
eenhouseexper
iment
amet
hodol
gyof"
Mit
scher
li
ch
(
Spr
ingbar
leyL.
)
cont
ainer
s"hav
ingadoubl
ebot
tom

PlantTi ssueAnal ysis

Adv antagesofpl antTi ssueanalysis
a.Diagnosingorconf irmingthediagnosi
sofvisibl
e
sympt omsb.I denti
fyinghiddenhunger
c.locati
ngar easofincipient(
earl
ystage)def
icienci
es.
d.Indicati
ngwhet hertheappliednutri
ent
shaveent er
edthe
plante.Indicati
nginteracti
onsorantagoni
smsamongnut r
ient
el
ement s.

Plantanal ysisconsi stsoft hree

met hodsRapi dt issuetests
I
tisar apidt estandqual i
tati
veorsemiquant itativemet hod.
Fresh plantt issue orsap f rom r uptured cell
si st est ed for
unassimilatedN,P,Kandot hernut r
ients.Thecel lsapi sadded
with cert
ainr eagentst o develop colour.Based on i ntensi t
yof
colourlow, medi um andhi ghcol ouriscategori
zedwhi chi ndicates
the def i
ciency ,adequat e and hi gh nut ri
ents in t he pl ants
respecti
vely.I ti s mai nly used f orpr edi
cti
ng def icienci es of
nutri
entsandi tispossibletoforecastcer t
ainproductionpr oblems.

28
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Tot alanalysi
s
Itisaquant i
tati
vemet hodandper formedonwhol eplantor
on pl antparts.Thedr i
ed plantmat er
ialisdi gested wi
t h aci
d
mi xtures and tested for diff
erentnut ri
ents quantit
ati
vely by
differentmethods.Thedet erminationgiv esbothassi mil
atedand
unassi mil
atednutrient
ssuchasni trogen,phosphor us,potassium
calcium,magnesi um,sul phur,iron,manganese,copper ,bor on,
mol ybdenum,cobal t
,chlor
ine,si l
icon,zi nc,aluminium et c.
,in
plants.Recentlymat uredpl
antmat eri
alispr ef
erableforaccur at
e
anal ysi
s.

Cr
it
icall
evel
sofnut
ri
ent
sinpl
ant
s
El
ement Gener
alr
ange(
%) Cr
it
icall
evel(
%)
N 2.0-4.
0 <2
P 0.2-0.
5 <0. 1
K 1.5-3.
0 <1. 0
Ca 0.5-3.
0 <0. 1
Mg 0.2-0.
5 <0.2
S 0.2-0.
5 <0.15
Fe 50–150ppm <5ppm
Cu 5–20ppm <4ppm
Zn 20–100ppm <15ppm
Mn 20–500ppm <20ppm
B 2–100ppm <20ppm
Mo 1.
0-2.
0ppm <0.1ppm
Cl 0.2-2.
0ppm -

Indi
catorplants:
Thesearepl antsthatar
emor esuscept
ibl
et ot
hedefi
ciency
ofspecifi
cnut ri
entsanddev el
opcleardef
ici
encysymptomsi f
grownint hatnut r
ientdefi
cientsoi
l
.Hencet hesearecal
ledas
i
ndicat
orplants.Somei ndi
catorpl
ant
sare

29
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Nut
ri
ent
s I
ndi
cat
orpl
ant
s
N,
Ca Cabbage,
Caul
i
flower
P Rape
K,
Mg Pot
ato
Fe Caul
i
flower
,cabbage,
pot
ato,
oat
s
Zn Mai
ze
Na,
B Sugarbeet
Mn Sugar
beet
,oat
s,pot
ato
Mo Lucer
ne
Cu Wheat

Neubauerseedl ingmet hod

Theneubauert echniqueisbasedont heupt akeofnut r
ients
byal argenumberofpl antsgrownonasmal lamountsoi l
.The
rootsthoroughlypenet ratet hesoil,exhausti
ngav ai
lablenut ri
ent
supplywi thi
nashor tt i
me.Usual ly100seedl ingsofr yeoroat s
madet of eed100gsoi lmi xedwith50gsand.Bl ankwi thoutsoilis
alsorun.Tot alP2O5 andK2Oupt akeiscal cul
atedandbl ankv alue
i
sdet ectedtogetr ootsol ubleP2O5andK2O.Val uesdesi gnatedas
NeubauerNos.( mg/ 100 g soi l)ar e used t o determine t he
defi
ciency.Theset ablesgi vethemaxi mum v aluesofav ail
able
macroandmi cr
onutri
entsf orsati
sfactoryyiel
dsofv ariouscrops.

Mi crobiol ogicalmet hods

Int heabsenceofnut r
ients,cer t
ainmi croorganismsexhi bit
behav ioursi milartot hatofhigherpl ants.Forexampl e,gr owthof
Azot obact erorAsper gill
usnigerr eflectsnut r
ientdef i
ciencyinthe
soil.Thesoi lisgroupedf rom v erydef ici
enttonotdef ici
entinthe
respect i
v eelement s,dependingont heamountofcol onygr owt
h.In
compar isonwi thmet hodst hatut il
izegr owingofhi gherplants,
micr obiologicalmet hodsarer apid,simpl eandr equir
el i
ttl
espace.

30
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

SacketandSt ewarttechnique
Foridenti
fyi
ngPandKdef ici
encytestsoi
lisdi
videdinto4
por
tions.Soluti
oncontai
ningsol
ubleP,K,andP+Kareaddedi n3
por
tions and one por t
ion was all
owed as check.They are
i
noculatedwi t
hAzotobacterandincubatedfor72hrs.Basedon
col
onygr owthdefi
ci
encyisident
ifi
ed.

MelichCunni nghamel l
a–pl aquet est
Cunninghamel laissensi t
ivef orP.Testsoilismi xedwi th
nutr
ientsolutionandapast eispr epared.Thepast
ei sspreadona
clay di
sh.Cunni nghamellai si nocul
ated at t
he cent re and
i
ncubatedf or5- 6days.Basedont hediameterofmy cel
ialgrowth,
thesoilisdi agnosedasdef i
cient(<10cm) ,moderatel
ydef i
cient
(11-
21cm) , ornotdefici
ent(>22cm) .

derAsper
Mul gil
lusni
gert
estf
orCuandMg
Col
ours ofmycel
i
aland spores ar
e used t
o del
i
neat
et he
def
ici
encyofCuandMg.Thi
smet hodisusedforMo,Co,Mn,S,Zn
al
so.

Microbi ol
ogicaltest
Byusi ngv ar
iouscul t
uresofmi croorganismssoi lfert
il
it
ycan
beev aluated.Thesemet hodsar esi mpl e,rapi
dandneedl i
ttl
e
space.Wi nogradskywasoneoft hef i
rsttoobser veint heabsence
ofminer alel
ement scert
ainmi croorganismsex hibit
edabehav i
our
si
mi l
art othatofhi gherplant
s.Mi cr
oor ganismsar esensi ti
vet o
defi
ciencyofnut rientsandcoul dbeusedt odetectt hedef i
ciency
ofanynut ri
ent.Asoi list
reatedwi thsuit
abl enutr
ientsol uti
onsand
cul
tures of v ar
ious mi crobi
alspeci es ( bact
er i
a,f ungi
) and
i
ncubat ed fora f ew day s.Then obser vi
ng t he gr owth and
devel
opmentofor ganismsi nt ermsofwei ghtordi amet eroft he
myceliapad, t
heamountofnut ri
entpresenti nthesoil i
sest i
mat ed.

Ex:a.Azot
obact
ormet
hodf
orCa,
PandK.
b.Asper
gil
l
usni
gert
estf
orPandK

31
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

c.Mehli
ch’sCunni
nghamel
l
a(Fungus)-pl
aquemet
hodf
or
phosphorus
d.Sacket
tandSt
ewar
ttechni
ques(Azot
obact
ercul
tur
e)t
o
fi
ndoutPandKstat
usinthesoil
.

Chemi calTest
SoilTesti
ng
Asoi ltestisachemi calmethodf oresti
matingthenutr
ient
supply
ingpowerofasoi l.Iti
smuchmor erapi
dandhast headded
advantageov erothermethodsofsoi lf
ert
il
it
yev al
uati
on.Onecan
deter
mi netheneedsoft hesoilbeforethecropi spl
anted.Asoil
testmeasuresapar toft
het ot
alnutr
ientsuppl
yinthesoil
.

Obj
ecti
veofsoi lt
esti
ng
yTo ev aluatefer
ti
li
tyst
atus ofsoi
lbymeasur
ing av
ail
abl
e
nutr
ientstat
us
yTopr escr
ibeorrecommendsoilamendment
sli
kel
i
meand
gypsum andfer
ti
li
zersf
oreachcr
op
yToassessnut
ri
entdef
ici
enci
es,i
mbal
ancesort
oxi
ci
ti
esi
n
soi
landcr
op
yTotestt
hesuit
abi
l
ityofsoi
lforcul
ti
vat
ionorgar
deni
ngor
or
chardmaki
ng
y Toknowaci
dit
y,al
kal
i
nit
yandsal
i
nit
ypr
obl
ems
y
Toknowmor
phol
ogy
,genesi
sandcl
assi
fi
cat
ionof
soi
l
y
Tof
indoutt
heef
fectofi
rr
igat
iononsoi
l
pr
oper
ti
es.
yToprepar
easoi
lfer
ti
li
tymapofanar
ea(
vil
l
age,
tal
uk,
dist
ri
ct,
st
ate)

32
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

I
nter
pret
ati
onofsoi
ltestr
esul
tsandcr
it
ical
lev
elsofnut
ri
ent
s
i
nsoil
s
Nutri
ents Low Medium High
Av
ail
.Ni
trogen(Kg/ha) 280 280-
580 >580
Avail
.Phosphorus(P2O5
Kg/ 22.
5 22.
5-55 >55
ha)
Avail
.Potassi
um (K2O
Kg/ha) 125 125-300 >300
Organiccarbon(%) 0.5 0.5-
0.75 >0.
75
pH <6.5 =Aci dic
6.5-
7.5 =Normal/
Neut
ral
7.5-
8.5 =Sal
ine
>8.5 =Al kali
ne
EC(
dSm-1) <0.80=Normal
0.8-1.
60=Cri
ti
calforsomecr ops
1.6-2.
5=Cri
ti
calforsal
ttol
erantcrops
>2.5=Inj
uri
oustoallcr
ops

Ca <50%ofCEC
Mg <4%ofCEC
<10pp
S m
Zn <0.6ppm (
0.5-
1.2ppm)
Fe 2.5-
4.5ppm
Mn <2ppm
Cu <0.2ppm
B <0.5ppm (
WS)
Mo <0.2ppm
Cl <2ppm (WS)
33
 Chapt
er4

Techniques-MethodsofSoilFert
il
it
yEval
uati
on
–I nducti
ve-Deducti
ve-‘
A’ValueTechni
que-
CropLogging-Cri
ti
calLevel
-DRISand
AgronomicApproach

Inducti
v eapproach
Thisappr oachisbycr eatingfer
til
it
ygr adientarti
fi
cial
lyi
na
parti
cularexperimentallocation by addit
ion off er
ti
li
zers.The
approachofi nduci
ngf ert
il
it
ygr adi
ent(Ramamoor t
hy,1970)ai
ms
ateliminati
ng infl
uenceoft he3 outof4 f actorsint heyiel
d
functi
on, namel y: crop, climate and management i n the
experi
ment all
ocati
on.

Alargefield having widev ar

iati
on inf erti
li
tyischosen i na
l
ocati
on.I
tisdivi
dedi nto4strips,whi charetr
eat edwith4dosesofN,
PandKf er
ti
li
zersv i
z.,contr
ol( N0P0K0),½ nor maldose( N½ P½ K½),
normaldose(N1P1K1)anddoubl edose( N2P2K2) .Thenor maldoses
arefi
xedbasedonnut r
ientfi
xingcapaci t
yoft hesoi l
.Exhausti
vecrop
l
ikemaizeisgrown.Thecal i
brationcr opexper i
menti sthenlai
dout .
Forthepurposeofcor rel
ati
on,21t reat
mentshav ingoneunt reated
checkpl
otaretested.

34
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Deductiv
eappr oach
Deductiv
eapproachutili
zest
henat ur
alvar
iat
ioni
nsoilf
ert
il
it
y
f
orcalibr
atingsoiltestval
ues.Multi
locat
iontr
ial
sarecarri
edout
wit
hsamesetoft reatments.Theresponsesarethenfi
tt
edinthe
f
erti
li
zerprescri
pti
onmodels.

Colwell(1967)dev elopedt hisapproachont hebasi st hat

somev ari
ables,whi chaf f
ectther esponseofcr optofer t
il
izer s,if
omitt
edf r
om t hecor rel
ati
onbet weensoi ltestandcropr esponse,
l
edt opoorcor r
elati
ons.Topr eventthisdi f
fi
cult
y,acal ibrat i
on
modelwassuggest edbasedont hegenerali
zati
onofcoef ficients
ofan or t
hogonalpol y
nomi aly i
eld-
response model,whi ch can
i
ncludeallt
hev ari
ablesaffecti
ngt heresponsestofert
il
izers.

A-Val uetechnique
Fri
edandDean( 1952)cal
cul
atedt
heav
ailnut
ri
enti
nthesoi
l
beusingradioact
ivei
sotopes.

A-v
alueisdefi
nedasthatamountofnutr
ient
sinsoil,whi
ch
behavesinasimi
larwayast
heappl
iedfer
ti
li
zer
snutri
entdoses.

Wher
e,

A=Av
ail
abl
esoi
lnut
ri
ent

B=Amountoff
ert
il
it
ynut
ri
entappl
i
ed

Y = Fract
ion ofthe nut
ri
ent
s der
ived f
rom t
he f
ert
il
iz
ers
cont
ainedintheplant

The val
idi
ty of crit
icalv alue i
sveri
fi
ed by conduct
ing
ver
if
icat
iontr
ial
sinthefiel
dl ocati
onswher
efr
om t
hesoilsamples
havebeencoll
ectedforpotstudies.

35
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

CropLoggi ng
Anexcel l
entex ampleoft heuseofpl antanaly
sisincrop
producti
oni sthecroploggingcar r
iedoutforsugar
caneinHawai i
.
Thecr oplog,whichisagraphicr ecordoft
hepr ogr
essofthecrop,
contai
nsaser iesofchemi calandphy si
calmeasurements.Cr
it
ical
nutri
entconcentrat
ionapproachi susedinthecroplogsyst
em.

Insugarcane,pl
antissampl edat35day sandanalysedf orN,
sugar,moistur
eandwei ghtofyoungsheathtissue.Nutr
ientsli
keP
and K ar e monitor
ed atcr i
ticalstages.Based on moi sture,
i
rri
gati
on i s schedul
ed.Based on nut ri
ent content,ferti
li
zer
appl
icati
onisdone.Byt hisr
ecordkeeping,t
hepr oducti
vit
yofcr op
i
sincreased.

Cri
ticalLi
mi tApproach
WaughandFi tts(1965)developedt hi
st echni
quewhichi s
l
argelymeantf orl
essmobilenutr
ientslikeP,Kandmi cr
onutr
ient
s.
Soil
sv aryconsiderabl
yinf i
xi
ngcapaci t
ies.Duet oitapar tof
appli
edP, whichisf
ixedinsoi
l,i
snotr eadil
yav ai
labl
etoplant
s.

Themet hodi ncludesincubati

onst udy
.ForP,Soi lisi ncubated
for72 hour s wit
h gr aded doses ofsol ubleP i nt he form of
monocal cium phosphat e.Then,theamountofphosphat esreleased
(extr
acted) with an ext racti
ng reagent (
Ol sen or Bray) wi l
lbe
determined.Theext r
actedPv er
sustheamountofPappl i
edi splotted.
Iftherelat
ionshi
pisuni que,thenforhi
ghPf i
xingsoilsalargeramount
off ert
il
izerP appl icati
on is needed.This amountofP f i
xed i s
estimatedasX- val
ue.

36
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

DiagnosisandRecommendat i
onI ntegratedSystem ( DRI
S)
DRISisasy stem thati dent if
iesal lthenutri
ti
onalf act
ors
l
imiti
ngcropproduct i
on.Indexv aluesmeasur ehow f arparti
cul
ar
nutri
entsi
ntheleaforplantar ef rom opt i
mum level
s.Indexv al
ues
areusedinthecal i
brati
ont ocl assifyyieldfact
orsint heorderof
l
imiti
ng import
ance.To dev elop a DRI Sf ora given crop,the
fol
lowingcr
it
eri
aar etobewel lconsi dered.
y
Al
lfact
orshav
ingef
fecton
y
iel
dy
Rel
ati
onshi
pamong
f
act
ors
yCal
i
brat
ionnor
ms
yCont
inual
l
yref
inedr
ecommendat
ions
DRIS was dev eloped based on nutr
ient rat
ios. When
compared to concentrat
ion t
hatnormall
yvaries wit
h season,
nutr
ientrat
iodoesnotv erymuch.Whenanut ri
entrati
ohasan
opti
malv al
ue,opti
mum y i
eldoccur
sunlesssomeot herli
miti
ng
fact
orreducestheyi
eld.

Whent herati
oistool owar esponsei
nthenumerat
orwi l
lbe
obtained ifitislimit
ing.I fthenutri
entinthedenominatoris
excessive,ay i
eldresponsemayormaynotoccurdependi ngon
thelevelofotheryi
eldfactors.

37
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Whent herat
ioi
stoohighther ever
sei
str
ue.Usual
l
yN/ S,
K/Mg,K/ Ca,Ca+Mg/ K,N/Prat
iosarecommonl
yused.I
nit
ial
ly
rel
ati
onshipamongN-
P-Kiscal
i
brated.

Thus,DRIShassever
aladv ant
agestoint
egrat
emuchnutrient
concent
rat
ionatv ar
iousstages,indif
fer
entseasonssui
tabl
ef or
manyculti
varsofacrop.

DRIS hasbeenf oundsui

tabl
eforsev
eralgr
aincr
opsand
per
ennialf
ruitt
rees.

Adv
antageofDRIS
yThei mport
anceofnutr
iti
onalbalanceist
akenintoaccountin
deri
vi
ngthenormsandmaki ngdiagnosi
s.I
thelpst
oquant i
fy
thenut
ri
entbal
anceintheplant.
yThenor
msf ornut
rientcont
enti
nleav
escanbeuni
ver
sal
l
y
appl
i
edtot
heparti
cularcr
op.
yDi
agnosi
scanbemadeov
erawi
der
angeofst
agesofcr
op
devel
opment
.
yThenutr
ientl
imit
ingyiel
dthr
oughei
therexcessorinsuff
ici
ent
canbereadil
yidenti
fi
edandarr
angedinorderoftheirl
i
mi t
ing
impor
tanceforyi
eld.
Agronomi cAppr oach
Thisisbasedonf ert
il
izerrateexper
iment
s( r
ecordi
ngyieldat
i
ncreasingnutri
entlevels)conduct edatmanylocati
ons.Thel evel
atwhi chyiel
dsar ehighar er ecordedandaveraged.From these
resul
ts,theopti
mum doseoff ert
ili
zeri
srecommendedf oracr op
atgiv
enagr o-
cli
mat i
cregion.

Eg.A bl anketdose of120-50-

50 kg/
ha ofN,P2O5,K2O
r
espect
ivel
yisrecommendedforr
ice.

38
 Chapt
er5

Sources,Forms,Mobi
li
ty,Tr
ansf
ormati
on,
Fi
xat
ion,LossesandAvai
labil
it
yofNi
tr
ogenin
Soil

Nitr
ogen( N)isneededforallgr
owt hpr
ocesses,asitisthe
majorcomponentofami noacids,whi
char et
hebuil
dingblocksof
prot
eins,enzy
mesandt hegreenpigmentchlor
ophyl
l.Chl
orophyl
l
convert
ssunlightenergyint
oplantenergyintheform ofsugars
andcarbohydrates.

Ther ei s an abundant suppl y of ni tr

ogen int he ear th’s
atmospher eN2 gascompr isesnear l
y79% ofai r
.Howev er,N2 i s
unavail
ablef orusebymostor gani
smsbecauset hereisat r
iplebond
betweent het wonit
rogenat oms, makingt hemoleculealmostiner t.In
orderfornitrogentobeusedf orgrowthi tmustbe“ fi
xed”(combi ned)
i
nt heform ofammoni um (
NH4)orni tr
ate( NO3)ions.Theweat heri
ng
ofrocksr el
easesthesei onssosl owlythatithasanegligibl
eeff ecton
the avail
abili
tyoff ixed nit
rogen.Ther efore,nit
rogen is often t he
l
imiti
ngf actorforgrowt handbi omasspr oducti
oni nal
lenv i
ronment s
wheret herei sasuitablecli
mat eandav ail
abi
li
tyofwat ertosuppor t
l
ife.

39
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Sour
cesofNit
rogen
y Theat
mospher
e
y Bi
ologi
cal
fixat
ion
y At
mospher
icf
ixat
ion
y Pr
eci
pit
ati
on(
deposi
ti
on)
y
Indust
ri
alf
ixat
ion–commer
cial
f
ert
il
iz
ersy
Soi
lor
gani
cmat
ter
y Cr
opr
esi
dues
y Ani
mal
manur
es
Atmospher i
cNi sthemaj orr eservoirforNi ntheNcy cle
(ai
ris79% N2 gas) .Al t
houghunav ailabletomostpl ant s,lar ge
amount sofN2 canbeusedbyl egumi nouspl antsv iabiologicalN
fi
xati
on.I nt his bi ol
ogicalpr ocess,nodul e-forming Rhi zobium
bacteri
ai nhabi tt her ootsofl egumi nouspl antsand t hrougha
symbioticr el
at i
onshi pconv ertatmospher icN2 t oaf or
mt hepl ant
canuse.TheamountofN2f i
xedbyl egumesi nt ousableNcanbe
substantial,withapot enti
alforsev eralhundr edpoundsNperacr e
peryeart obef i
xedi nanal falf
acr op.Anypor tionofal egumecr op
thatisleftafterhar vest,incl
udingr oot sandnodul es,cansuppl yN
tothesoi lsystem whent heplantmat erialisdecomposed.Sev er al
non-symbi oti
cor ganismsexi stt hatf i
xN,butN addi ti
onsf rom
theseor ganismsar equi telow ( 1-5poundsperacr epery ear).I n
additi
on,smal lamount sofNar eaddedt osoi lfrom precipitation.
TheamountofNsuppl i
edf r
om pr eci
pi t
at i
onav erages5-10pounds
peracrepery earinMi nnesota.

Sources
Commer cial N fert
il
izer
s are also der i
ved from the
atmospheric N pool.The majorstep isto combine N2 wi
th
hydrogen(H2)t oform ammoni a(NH3)
.Anhy dr
ousammoni ais
thenusedasast ar
ti
ngpointinthemanufact
ureofotherni
tr
ogen
fert
il
izer
s.Anhydr
ousammoni a

40
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

orotherNpr oduct
sderiv
edf r
om NH3 canthensupplementother
Nsour cesforcropnut
rit
ion.Nit
rogencanalsobecomeav ail
able
forplantusef rom or
ganicN sour ces.Butfi
rsttheseorganic
sour
cesmustbeconv er
tedtoi norgani
cformsbef or
etheyar e
avai
l
abl et
oplants.

Nitr
ogenisav ail
abl
et oplantsasei therammoni um (NH4+-
N)
ornitr
ate(NO3--
N).Animalmanur esandot herorganicwastescan
bei mportantsourcesofN f orplantgr owt h.TheamountofN
suppli
edbymanur ewi l
lvarywiththet ypeofl ivest
ock,handl
ing,
rateappli
ed,andmet hodofappl icat
ion.Si ncet heN form and
contentofmanur es vari
es widely,an anal ysi
s ofmanur eis
recommendedt oimpr oveNmanagement .

Cropresi
duesfrom non-l
egumi nousplantsalsocontainN, but
i
nr elat
ivel
ysmal lamount s compar ed wit
hl egumes.Ni tr
ogen
exi
stsincropresi
duesincompl exor gani
cformsandt her esi
due
mustdecay( aprocesst hatcant akesev eralyears)beforeN i s
madeav ail
abl
eforpl
antuse.

Soilorganicmat teri
salsoamaj orsourceofNusedbycr ops.
Organicmat teri scomposedpr imari
l
yofr at
herst ablemat eri
al
call
edhumust hathascollect
edov eralongper iodoft ime.Easily
decomposed por ti
ons ofor ganic materi
aldi sappearr el
ati
vely
quickly,leavingbehi ndresiduesmor er esi
stantt o decay .Soils
containappr oxi matel
y2,000poundsNi nor ganicf ormsf oreach
percentofor ganic mat t
er.Decomposi ti
on oft his por t
ion of
organicmat t
erpr oceedsatar athersl
owr ateandr eleasesabout
20lbN/ acre/yearforeachpercentoforganicmat ter.

Ni
tr
ogenCy
cle
Nit
rogenexi
stsint hesoilsy
stem inmanyf ormsandchanges
(tr
ansforms)veryeasil
yf or
m oneformt oanot her.Therout
ethatN
fol
lowsi nandoutofthesoilsy
stem iscoll
ect
ivelycall
edthe“
nit
rogen
cycle”.The nitr
ogen cy cl
ei s biol
ogical
lyi nfl
uenced.Biol
ogical
processes,

41
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

i
nt ur
n,areinfl
uencedbypr evail
ingcl i
maticconditi
onsalongwit
h
thephy sicaland chemicalpr oper t
iesofapar t
icularsoi
l.Bot
h
climateandsoi l
sv ar
ygreatlyacr ossMi nnesot
aandaf f
ecttheN
transfor
mat i
onsforthedif
ferentar eas.

Nitrogent r
ansformations
Nit
rogen,presentoraddedtothesoil
,issubjecttosev
eral
changes ( t
ransf
ormations)t
hatdict
atethe avai
l
abili
tyofN t o
plantsandi nfl
uencet hepot
enti
almovementofNO3--Nt owater
supplies.
OrganicNt hati
spr esentinsoilorganicmat t
er,cropr esi dues,
andmanur eisconv ert
edt oinorganicN t hrought hepr ocessof
miner al
izati
on.Inthi
spr ocess,bact
eriadigestorganicmat er ialand
rel
ease NH4+- N.Format ion ofNH4+- N increases as mi crobial
activ
ityi ncreases.Bact eri
algrowt hi s dir
ectl
yr elated t o soi l
temper atureandwat ercontent.TheNH4+-Nsuppl iedf r
om f ertil
izer
i
st hesameast heNH4+-Nsuppl i
edfrom organicmat ter.

42
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Ammoni um-Nhaspr opert

iesthatar
eofpr act
icali
mpor t
ance
forN management .Pl
antscanabsor bNH4+-N.Ammoni um also
has a positi
ve charge and t
herefor
e,is attract
ed orhel d by
negati
vel
ychar gedsoilandsoilorgani
cmat ter.Thismeanst hat
NH4+-
Ndoesnotmov edownwar dinsoil
s.Nitrogeni ntheNH4+- N
for
mt hatisnott akenupbyplantsissubjecttoot herchangesi n
+ -
thesoi
lsystem.Ni t
ri
fi
cat
ionistheconver
sionofNH4 - Nt oNO3-N.
Nitr
ifi
cat
ionisabi ologicalprocessandpr oceedsrapidl
yin
warm,moi st
,wel l
-aerated soi l
s. Nit
rif
icati
on sl ows at soi l
temperatur
es below 50 degr ees F.Ni t
rate-N i s a negati
vel
y
chargedionandi snotat t
ractedt osoi
lpar ti
clesorsoi lorgani
c
matterli
keNH4+-N.Nit
rate-Niswat ersolubleandcanmov ebelow
thecroprooti
ngzoneundercer tai
nconditi
ons.

Deni t
rifi
cat
ionisapr ocessbywhi chbacteriaconv ertNO3--
N
toN gasest hatarelosttotheatmospher e.Denitr
ifyi
ngbact eri
a
use NO3-- N instead of oxygen int he met abol
ic pr ocesses.
Denitr
if
ication t
akespl acein water
logged soiland wi t
h ample
organicmat t
ertoprovideenergyforbacteri
a.Fort heser easons,
denit
rif
icati
oni sgener al
lyli
mitedtot opsoi
l.Denitri
ficationcan
proceedr apidl
ywhensoi lsarewarm andbecomesat uratedfor2
or3day s.

At empor aryreducti
oni nthemountofpl antav ailableNcan
occurf rom i mmobi l
ization (ti
e up)ofsoi lN.Bact er
iathat
decomposehi ghcar bon-low N r esidues,suchascor nst alksor
smal lgr ainstraw,needmor eN t odi gestt hemat erialthanis
presenti nther esi
due.Immobi li
zationoccur swhenNO3-- Nand/ or
NH4+-Npr esentinthesoilisusedbyt hegr owi ngmi crobest obuil
d
proteins.Theact i
vel
ygr owi ngbact eriat hati mmobi l
i
z esomesoi l
Nal sobr eakdownsoi lorganicmat tert or eleaseav ail
abl eNdur i
ng
thegr owi ngseason.Ther eisof tenanetgai nofN dur ingthe
growingseasonbecauset headdi ti
onalNi nt her esiduewi l
lbethe
netgai naf t
erimmobi li
zation-mineralizationpr ocesses.

43
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Ni
tr
ogenlossfr
om t
hesoi
lsy
stem
yLeaching
y Deni
tr
if
icat
ion
y Vol
ati
l
izat
ion
yCr
opr
emov
al
y Soi
ler
osi
onandr
unof
f
In contrast tot he biol
ogicalt r
ansformati
ons pr evi
ously
descri
bed,lossofni tr
atebyleachi
ngisaphy si
calevent.Leaching
i
st helossofsol ubleNO3--
Nasi tmov eswithsoilwat er
,generall
y
excesswat er
, belowtherootzone.Nit
rate-
Nt hatmov esbelowt he
rootzonehast hepotenti
altoenterei
thergroundwaterorsur face
waterthrought i
ledrai
nagesystems.

Coar se-
texturedsoilshav ealowerwat erholdingcapaci t
yand,
ther
efore,agr eat erpotent i
altoloseni t
ratefrom l eachingwhen
compar edwi t
hf ine-text
uredsoi l
s.Somesandysoi l
s,forinstance,
mayr etai
nonl y1/ 2inchofwat erperfootofsoi lwhi lesomesi lt
l
oam orcl ayloam soi lsmayr etai
nupt o2i nchesofwat erperfoot.
Nitr
ate-
Ncanbel eachedf rom anysoili
frainfal
lorirrigati
onmov es
waterthrought her ootzone.

Denitri
ficat i
oncanbeamaj orlossmechani sm ofNO3-- Nwhen
soil
sar esat ur atedwi t
hwat erfor2or3day s.Nitrogeni nt heNH4+- N
formi snotsubj ecttothisl oss.Managemental ternati
v esareav ail
able
i
fdeni t
rif
icationl ossesar eapot enti
alproblem.Si gnif
icantlosses
from somesur face-appliedNsour cescanoccurt hr
ought heprocess
ofv olatil
i
zation.I nt hi
spr ocess,N i slostasammoni a( NH3)gas.
Nitr
ogencanbel ostint hiswayf r
om manur eandf erti
li
zerproduct s
containingur ea.Ammoni ai sani nter
mediatef orm ofN dur i
ngt he
processi nwhi chur eai stransformed to NH4+-N.I ncorporationof
theseNsour ceswi llvi
rtuallyeli
minatevolat
il
izati
onl osses.LossofN
from volatil
i
zat ion

44
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

i
sgreaterwhensoilpH i
shigherthan7.3,t
heairt
emper
atur
eis
hi
gh,thesoi
lsur
faceismoist,andther
eisalotofr
esi
dueonthe
soi
l.

Subst
ant i
alamount s ofN arelostfr
om the soilsyst
em
thr
ough crop remov al
.A 250 bushelperacre corn cr
op,for
example,r
emov esappr oxi
matel
y175poundsofNwi ththegrai
n.
Cropremov alaccountsforamajor
it
yoftheNthatleavesthesoi
l
syst
em.

Nit
rogen can be l ostfr om agricul
turall ands through soil
erosionandr unoff.Lossesthr oughtheseev ent sdonotnor mall
y
accountf oral argeportionoft hesoilN budget ,butshoul dbe
considered f orsur f
ace wat erqual i
tyi ssues.I ncorporati
on or
i
njectionofmanur eandf ert
il
izercanhel ptopr otectagainstNl ow
through er osion or runoff.Wher e soils are hi ghl
y er odi
ble,
conser v
ationt i
ll
agecanr educesoi ler
osionandr unoff,r
esulti
ngin
l
esssur facelowofN.

Av ail
abili
tyofNi trogeni nsoi l
Avail
ableni t
rogeni sdef i
nedasni tr
ogeni nachemi calf orm
thatcanber eadil
yabsor bedbypl antr oots.Themosti mpor tant
formsofav ail
able ni tr
ogen ar e NH4+,NO3- and cer t
ain simpl e
organiccompounds,pr incipall
yt hosecont aining f r
eeami deor
ami nogr oups.Ni t
r it
esar eami norsour ceofav ai
lableni tr
ogen.
Althoughpl antscanusual lyut i
li
zeanyoft heseni trogenf orms,
therear enumer ousexcept ions.Onef orm maybepr eferentiall
y
absor beddependi ngonenv i
ronmentandt hespeci esandageof
plants.Whi le plant s maybe si milari n appear ance and gr ow
equallywel londi f
f erentformsofni trogen,t heplantcomposi tion
maybewi delydifferent.Forexampl e,t heor ganicaci dcont entof
plantsi shigherwhenNO3- i sthesour ceofni tr
ogent hanwhen
NH4+ isthesour ce.Ri ceisoneoft hef ewpl antsthatut il
izesNH4+
mor eef f
ectiv
elythanNO3-atal lstagesofgr owt h.
45
 Chapt
er6

Sources,
Forms,
Mobi l
it
y,Transf
ormat
ion,
Fixat
ion,
LossesandAvai
labi
li
tyofPhosphor
ousinSoil

Phosphor
us(P)helpsrunthe'powerstat
ion'i
nsi
deev er
yplant
cel
landhasakeyr ol
ei nenergystorageandtransf
er.Phosphorus
i
snecessaryforallgrowt hprocessesandf orthenodulati
onof
rhi
zobi
abacter
iaandnitrogenfi
xati
on.

Sour
ces
Common P sources incl
ude r
ock phosphat e,manure and
compost ,al
lofwhi
charefrequent
lyusedi
nr esearchstudi
es.Bone
mealandguanoar eamongt helesscommonlyci t
edPsour cesbut
canhav ehighPcontents(
rangingfr
om 7% to12% and1% t o9%,
respecti
vel
y).

Ther
ear eot hernutr
ientsour
cesav ai
labl
et hatcan begood
sour
cesofP.Bonemeal ,prepar
edbygrindingraw animalbones,is
oneoftheearl
iestPsourcesusedinagri
cultur
e.Althoughbonemeal
i
softencit
edasanor gani
call
yapprov
edPsour ce,ithasarelat
ivel
y
hi
ghcostt her
ear elimi
tedsuppli
esandr esearchoni tseff
icacyis
l
imit
ed.

46
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Formsofphosphor
usi nsoil
s
I
nsoil
sPmayexistinmanydiff
erentf
orms.I
npr act
ical
ter
ms,
however
,Pinsoi
l
scanbet houghtofexi
sti
ngin3"pools"
:

ySol
uti
onP
yAct
iveP
yFi
xedP
yThesol utionPpooli sv erysmal landwi l
lusuall
ycont ai
nonl ya
fractionofapoundofPperacr e.Thesol uti
onPwi l
lusuall
ybei n
theor thophosphat ef orm,butsmal lamountsofor ganicPmay
existaswel l
.Plantswi llonlyt akeupPi nt heorthophosphat e
form.Thesol ut
ionpooli simpor tantbecauseiti
st hepoolfr om
whi ch pl antst ake up P and i st he onlypoolt hathas any
measur ablemobi li
ty.Mostoft hePt akenupbyacr opdur i
nga
growi ngseasonwi l
lpr obablyhav emov edonlyani nchorl ess
through t hesoi lt ot her oots.A gr owing crop would quickly
depl etet hePi nt hesol ubl
ePpooli fthepoolwasnotbei ng
cont inuousl yrepleni
shed.

yTheact iv
ePpooli sPi nt hesol i
dphasewhi chisrelati
vel
y
easil
yr el
easedtothesoi lsol
ution,thewat ersur
roundingsoil
parti
cles.Asplant
st akeupphosphat e,theconcentrati
onof
phosphat ei
nsolut
ionisdecr easedandsomephosphat efrom
theact i
vePpooli sreleased.Becauset hesolut
ionPpooli s
verysmal l
,theact
ivePpooli sthemai nsour ceofavail
ableP
forcrops.Theabil
ityoft heactivePpoolt orepl
eni
sht hesoil
solut
ionP pooli nasoi liswhatmakesasoi lfer
til
ewi t
h
respecttophosphate.

yThef i
xedPpoolofphosphat ewillcont
aininorgani
cphosphat e
compoundst hatareveryinsolubl
eandor ganiccompoundst hat
areresist
anttomi neral
izati
onbymi cr
oorganismsi nthesoi l
.
Phosphateint hi
spoolmayr emaininsoi l
sf oryear
swi thout
beingmadeav ail
abl
etopl ant
sandmayhav ev er
yli
tt
leimpacton
thefert
il
it
yofasoi l
.Theinorganicphosphatecompoundsi nthis
fi
xed

47
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Ppoolar emorecrystal
l
ineintheirstr
uctureandlesssol
uble
thanthosecompoundsconsi deredtobei ntheacti
vePpool.
Somesl ow conversi
on between thef i
xed P pooland the
acti
vePpool doesoccurinsoil
s.

Thephosphor uscy cl
e
When f ertil
iser containi
ng phosphor us ( f
or exampl e,
superphosphate)i sappliedtoapasture,thephosphor usenter
sa
phosphoruscy cle.Ascanbeseenf rom Figure6.2,
thephosphor us
canmov ear oundt hesystem,aswellasbel ostfr
om t hesystem,
vi
amanydi f
ferentpat hways.ThePcycleisverycompl ex,i
nvolv
ing
agreatdealofi nteracti
onandchemicalreacti
onsinthesoil.

Thephosphorusinthesoilcanbet akenupbypl ant

s,then
consumedbyani malsandreturnedtothesoi l
.Thephosphorus
canalsomoveaboutinthesoi
l,changi
ngini t
schemicalf
orm and
i
nitsavai
l
abil
it
ytoplant
s.

Being hy groscopi c (
moi st
ure-att
racti
ng) i n nat
ure,
superphosphat e gr anul es at tr
actmoi st
uref rom t he atmospher e,
l
eadingt othegr anul er eleasingPev eninv erydr ycondit
ions.Many
chemi calreactionst akepl acewhenphosphor usi sappli
edt othesoi l
,
and onl y a smal lpr opor ti
on r emains in soluti
on and Av ail
abl
e
phosphor usr eadilyav ailabletot heplants.Ther emainderis'bonded'
or'f
ixed' i
nanunav ai
lablef or
mt ot hesurfaceoft hesoilpart
iclesand
organicmat t
er.Apr opor t
ionoft hi
sfixedphosphor usdoesbecome
avail
able ov era per i
od oft i
me and i sr efer
red to as t he soil
phosphor usreser ve.

48
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Lossesofphosphor us
yCr opremov al
ySoi l
losses
yLeachi ng
y Surfacerunoff
y Soilfi
xati
on
y Erosion

Leachi ng:Despitethe solubi

li
ty ofa si ngle superphosphate
granulei nwat er
,thephosphat eionisgener al
lynotl eachedasi tis
rapidlytiedupi nv ar
iousformssoonaf terapplicati
on.Insomesoi l
typeswi t
hahi ghfixi
ngcapacity
,thismayoccurwi t
hinhoursinother
soils,thePmayr emaini nthesolubl
ef ormf orsev eralweeks.The
amountofl eachingthatoccursinsoil
sv ari
eswi delyaccordi
ngt othe
typeofnut r
ient
,soi
l t
ype,andamountofr ainf
all
.Leachi ngisrel
atedto
the amountofor ganic matterort he amountand t ypes ofclay
mi neralsto

49
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

which thephosphor
uscan adsorb(att
ach).Thisismor eofa
problem i
nthesandysoiltypesi
nareasofhighrainf
all
,orwhen
fert
il
iseri
sappl
i
edjustbefor
eaheavyrai
nfal
levent
.

Phosphorusmayalsomov edownt hepr of

il
einsoil
st hatare
pronetocracki
ngandinsoil
st hathavereachedsatur
atedlevelsof
phosphorus.Potassi
um,sul phurand,undersome si tuati
ons,
ni
trogenaremuchmor epronet oleachi
ngthanphosphorus.

Surf
acerunof
fonirr
igat
edf
arms:Asmuchas11%ofappl
i
ed
phosphoruscanbecar
ri
edawayi
nirr
igat
ionwat
er.

Surf
acer unoffondr ylandfarms:A smal lamountofapplied
phosphorus maybe l ostv i
a surface wat
ercar ry
ing awayminute
amount sofdi ssolv
edphosphor us.Thisamounti smuchhi gherifa
heavyr ai
nfalloccurswi thi
nday sofappl yi
ngt hef er
ti
li
ser
.Recent
researchhasshownt hat,onclayloam soil
s,thelossofPi nsur
face
runoffisreducedby50% i frai
nfalls4daysaf t
erappli
cati
onandby
75% i fr ai
n occur s aft
er7 day s,compared t o when rai
nf al
l
i
mmedi at
elyafterappl
icati
on.

Provi
dedpast ur
ecov eri
sgoodandsoi lerosionismi ni
mal,
themajorit
yofthephosphoruslostviathismeansi si
nthesolubl
e
phosphorusform.Thissolubl
ef ormi ssosmal lthatpast
uredor
treedri
pari
anbufferstr
ipshavev er
ylit
tleeff
ectinprevent
ingthi
s
parti
cul
arnutr
ientl
oss.

Themajoref fectoft hi
slossist hatthi
sphosphor usiscarri
ed
todamsandl akesand,i ncombi nati
onwi t
ht heplenti
fulsupplyof
nit
rogeni nthesear eas,all
owsbl ue-greenal galbloomst ooccur .
Lossesf rom phosphor usdi ssolved in soilmoi stur
e,especiall
y
foll
owingheav yrain,aredependentont hetimesi nceapplicat
ion
offerti
li
ser,
soi lt
y pe,rai
nfal
lintensit
y,slope,etc.Thisisanar eaof
researchcurrentl
yr eceivi
ngmuchat tenti
on.

50
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Er
osi
onofsoi
lpar
ti
cles:
Si
ncephosphor usbindsqui cklytosoi lpart
icl
es( inot herwords,
becomespar ti
cul
ateP) ,i
tisobv i
oust hatsoi lerosioncanr esultin
phosphorusl osses.Such er osion lossescan occural ong stream
banksv i
at unnel
,gul
lyorsheeter osionf r
om newl yrenov atedorlaser-
gradedirr
igati
onareasandf rom sev erel
ypuggedpast uresorsacr if
ice
paddocks.Thequant it
yofPl ostbyer osionisusuallylowbutmaybe
a si gni
fi
cant cont ri
butor t o t he env ir
onment al pr oblem of
eutrophi
cation(hi
ghlevelsofnut ri
ents)causedbyunwant edandl arge
growthofwat erweedsoranal galbloom ofsaybl ue-greenal gae.

Recentr esear
chhaspr ovi
dedsomei ndicati
onoft heextent
ofthislossandi sprovi
dingsomegui del
inesf orr educti
onofP
l
osses.Obv iousl
y,any managementt hatr educes loose soi l
part
icl
esent eri
ngwaterway swillachi
evethis.Accuratef i
guresfor
thi
slossofphosphor usaredi f
fi
culttoassessf orindivi
dualfarms.
I
tissmal lbutshouldbereducedorcompl etelystopped, i
fpossible.

Fixation
Phosphor
us tends to undergo sequenti
alr eacti
ons that
producephosphor us-
cont
aini
ngcompoundsofl owerandl ower
solubili
tywhenappli
edtobothacidicandalkal
i
nesoi l
s.Therefor
e,
thelongerthePr emainsi
nt hesoil
,thelessavai
lableitbecomes
toplants.

Whenphosphor usi
sf i
rstappliedto soil
,ar api
dr eacti
on
(wit
hinaf ew hours)removest hesolubl
eP f rom soi
lsoluti
on.
Slowerreact
ionsthenconti
nuetogr adual
l
yr educePsolubil
it
yfor
mont hsorevenyearsasthephosphatecompoundsage.

I
magineafount
aincascadingdownaser i
esofst
epswi ththe
stepsindi
cati
ngti
meanddecr easingavai
labi
l
ityofPtoplants.The
solubleP,appli
edatt hetop,becomesmuchl essav ail
abl
et o
pl
ant sovert
imeduetoanev er-
increasi
ngstrengt
hof'f
ixing't
heP
tol ar
gerand lar
gercompounds,such asi r
on,al
uminium and
manganesephosphate,fr
om thetopofthecascadetothebot tom.

51
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Soi
lshighi norganicmat terorclaycont
enthaveast r
onger
phosphor
us-fixi
ngcapacityt handosandysoi ls.Someclaysoil
ty
peadsorbmor ephosphorust hanothercl
aysoil
sbecauseofthe
ty
pe ofcl ay mi neralint he topsoil
.Mostoft hi
s adsorbed
phosphor
us is notav ail
abl
et ot he pl
ant
,alt
hough some may
becomeavailableoverti
me

Soil
swi t
hhi ghaluminium andironl
evel
s,suchasr edsoil
sof
volcanicori
gin,usuallyhaveaveryhighphosphorus-
fi
xingcapacit
y.
I
nt hesesoi l
s, t
hephosphor usreactswit
hthealuminium orir
onto
formr elat
ivelyinsolubl
echemi calcompounds,whichr esul
tsina
higherpr oporti
on ofappl ied phosphor
us bei
ng locked up and
unav ai
labl
et oplants.

Av
ail
abi
li
tyofphosphor
ousi
nsoi
l
Soil
smaycont ai
nsever alhundr
edtosever
alt
housandpoundsof
phosphateperacr e.Howev er,muchofthephosphateinsoilsisnot
avai
labl
et ogrowingpl ant
s.Phosphat ei
nt hesoi
lsolut
ionPpooli s
i
mmedi atel
yav ai
lablebuttheamounti sverysmalli
ncompar i
sonto
thetotalP insoi l
s.Theact i
veP poolisphosphorust hatcanbe
rel
easedintosoluti
onbutisgener all
ysmal
lincompari
sont othefi
xed
P.

Todet er
minet heneedf orsuppl ement alP,soiltestsareof t
en
usedt oesti
mat ehowmuchphosphat ewi llbeav ail
abl
ef oracrop.The
mostcommonwayofdet ermini
ngP av ailabil
it
yist omi xasmal l
amountofsoi lwithanext racti
ngsol utiont hatcontainsanaci dor
compl exi
ngagentt hatwillremov esomeoft hephosphat ef
rom the
soilpar t
icl
es.The ext r
acti
ng solution and soi lare separated by
fi
lt
rationandtheamountofPext ractedi sdet ermined.Inalkal
i
nesoi l
s,
abasi csolutionmaybeusedast heext ractantbecauseanaci di
c
soluti
onwi l
lbeneutrali
zedbyt healkalinesoi landbelessef f
ecti
vein
extracti
ngP.

52
 Chapt
er7

Sources,For
ms,Mobil
it
y,Transf
ormati
on,Fi
xat
ion,
LossesandAvai
labi
li
tyofPotassi
um i
nSoil

Potassi
um (K)i s needed f ora wide range ofi mportant
processes wi t
hint he plant,includi
ng cellwalldev elopment,
fl
ower ingandseedset .Potassium hasakeyr oleinr egul
ating
wat eruptakeandt hef l
ow ofnut ri
entsinthesapst r
eam oft he
plant.Ithelpslegumesf ixnitr
ogenandal sohelpsthepl antt o
resiststr
essfrom weather,i
nsectsanddiseases.

Sour
ces
Appr oximat el
y90% t o 98% oft hetotalsoilK isi nthenon-
exchangeabl ef orm( al
thoughsomebecomesav ail
ableveryslowl y
duet o weat her
ing)and i spar toft heinter
nalst r
uctureofcl ay s,
mi ner
alpar ticlesandpar entr ockmateri
al.Thisformi snotav ai
lable
forplantupt ake.Approximately1%t o2%i sintheexchangeablef orm
andi slightl
yboundorhel d( adsorbed)onthesur f
aceofclaypar t
icles
andor gani cmat t
er.Thi
sf orm becomesav ai
lablerapidl
yandeasilyt o
plantswheni texchangeswi thothercati
onsandmov esbackintothe
soilsolution.Hence, iti
sreferredtoasexchangeabl epotassi
um when
i
tismeasur ed

53
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

i
nasoi ltest.Appr
oximatel
y0.1%to0.2%isinthesoilsol
uti
onand
readi
lyav ai
l
ableforuptakebyplants.Boththesoilsolut
ionand
exchangeablepotassi
um aremeasur
edinasoi lt
estasavail
abl
eK.

For
msofpotassi
um
Sol
ubl
ePot
assium
Themostavail
ablebutsmall
estpooli
ssolublepotassi
um, which
i
sdissol
vedinthesoilwater(
call
edthesoilsoluti
on)
.Plantstakeup
mostofthei
rpotassi
um dir
ectl
yfrom t
hispool,andsodepleteitvery
r
api
dly.

Exchangeabl epot assium

Solublepot assi
um i scloselyli
nkedt othemuchl argerpoolof
exchangeabl epot assium whi chi sheldont henegati
velycharged
surfacesofsoi lparti
cles( call
edcat i
onexchangesi tes).Between
them, thesol ubleandexchangeabl epotassium poolsarethemost
i
mpor t
antsour cesofpot assium avail
ablet oplant
s.Exchangeable
potassium i sreleasedi ntothesoi lsolut
ionaspl antsdepletethe
solublepot assium,allowi ngforar egularresupply
.Butt hesizeof
theexchangeabl epotassi um poolwi l
ldeterminetheeffecti
veness
oft hisr esuppl y.The r everse can also apply,with potassi
um
mov ing f r
om sol uti
on ont o exchange si tes when soilsoluti
on
concent rati
onsar ehigh.Thi scant akepl acewi t
hinaf erti
li
sed
band.

Fixedpot
assium
Theexchangeabl
epotassi
um pooli
sint
urnl
inkedwi
ththe
fi
xed pot
assi
um pool.Fixed pot
assi
um ist
emporar
il
ytr
apped
betweent
he

54
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

expandi
ng layer
s ofsome cl ay mi
nerals such as i
l
lite and
montmoril
l
onite.A fixed potassi
um poolissl owl
yavailabl
et o
plant
soverti
me, butsoilst
hatdonotcontainexpandi
ngclaytypes
haveonl
yav erysmall pooloffi
xedpot
assium.

StructuralPot assi
um
The l argestamountofpot assi
um wi t
hin a soilexists as
str
ucturalpot assi
um,andi sacomponentofpr imarymineral
s.I t
only becomes av ai
l
able upon l ong-
ter
m weat her
ing.Gener all
y,
hi
ghlyweat heredsoi
lsfrom humi d,tr
opicalareashav emuchl ess
str
uctural potassi
um remainingthannewersoi ls,orsoil
sfrom cold,
ari
dcl i
mat es.Theweat heringprocessissl owandnotconsi dered
ofanysi gnifi
cancetopl ants,exceptinv eryr ecentsediment ar
y
soi
lssuchassomeal luvi
umsi nNewZeal and.

Thepot assi
um cy cl
e
Pot assi
um int hesoil
-pasturesy st
em i scycl
edi nasi mil
ar
wayt ophosphor ous.Ani
mal sgrazingpasturesrecy
clemostoft he
potassium theyt akeinasur ine.Howev er,theyconcentr
atethis
potassium retur
nar oundwat ertroughs,stockcampsandy ar
ds.
Hay -
maki ngandsi l
age-
makingar et hemajorway sthatpotassi
um
reservesareremov edorredist
ribut
ed.

55
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

ThetotalamountofKpresenti
neachf orm wil
ldependonthe
pot
assium contentofthepar
entmater
ial
,extentofweather
ingand
l
eaching,redist
ri
buti
onbypl ant
s(fodder)and animalsand the
amountofappl i
edpotassi
um.

Lossesofpotassium
Thepotenti
alforfi
xat
ionorl
eachingofpot assium depends
l
argelyonthesoilcl
aycont
entandi
tsmi ner
alogy,thelevelofsoi
l
organicmatt
er,andt hecl
imat
e,part
icul
arl
yr ai
nfallorirri
gat
ion
l
ev el
s.

Insandysoi lslow inclay,pot assium largel yremainsinthe

soilsol
utionandcanbel eachedbel ow t hepl antrootzoneand
potenti
all
yi nt
ot hegr oundwat er.Suchl ightersoi l
s,especi
all
yin
high-
rai
nfalldist
rictsorunderhighi rri
gat i
onl evels,aremoreprone
topotassium def ici
enciesduet othi sleachingef f
ect.Heavysoil
s
(suchascl ays)orsoi l
shighinor ganicmat terar eusuall
yhighin
potassi
um.Howev er,somecanbel owi npot assium.

HowPot assium Pool sAf fectNut r

it
ion
The differ
entpot assi
um pool swi llhavel esserorgr eater
i
mpor tancetopl antnut r
iti
onindi f
ferentsoi lty
pes.Inmostv i
rgin
soi
ls,pl antsr elyt otall
y on t he sol uble and exchangeabl e
potassium poolsf ortheirrequi
rement s.Howev er
,afterprol
onged
peri
odsofagr i
culturalproducti
onandr emov alofpr oduce,t
hese
poolsar esl
owlydepl eted.Thet ablebelowshowsandex ampleof
howexchangeabl eKcanbedepl etedov ert i
me.

Oncedepletionofexchangeablepotassi
um occurs,
plantsrel
y
ont her el
easeoff i
xedpotassium torechargetheexchangeable
andsol ublepool s.Howeveri nmanysoi lsthesi zeofthef i
xed
potassium pool,ortherateatwhi chiti
sr el
eased,arei
nsuff
ici
ent
tomeetpl antdemand.Thi sispart
icul
arl
ythecasewher eint
ensive,
high-yi
eldi
ng pr oducti
on sy st
ems ar e est abl
i
shed. In these
i
nst ances,fer
ti
li
zerpotassium mustbeappl i
edtoensurehealthy
plantgrowth.

56
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Theamount sofKi ntherootzonear emor ethanenought o

meetcr opneeds,Kwi llbeabsorbedbypl antsinamountshigher
than requir
ed foropt i
mum y iel
d.Thiscan l ead t
o hi
ghert han
normalconcent rati
onsofKi nplanttissueandi sref
err
edt oas
"l
ux uryconsumpt i
on."Luxur
yconsumpt ionhasnoknownnegat i
ve
effectonpl antgrowth.Plantanalysi
sisamanagementt oolthat
canbeusedt olookbackatnut rientsuppli
esduri
ngthegrowi ng
season.

Av ail
abil
ityandupt akeofpot assi
um ( K)isoftencompl i
cated
by many i nteracti
ng component s.Two f actor
st hat hav ea
pr
edomi nati
ngef fectar
et hesoilandplantchar act
eri
sti
csinvolved.
Athi
rdf actor
,i mprovedf er
til
izerandmanagementpr act
ices,can
beusedt omodi fytheinherentcharacter
isti
csofsoi l
sandpl ants
i
nvol
vingKupt ake.

57
 Chapt
er8

Sources,
Forms,Mobili
ty,Transf
ormati
on,
Fi
xati
on,LossesandAvail
abili
tyofCalci
um and
Magnesi
um inSoil

Cal
cium
Calci
um (
Ca)isusual lyi
nadequatesuppl
yforpl
antgrowth.I
t
i
sinvol
vedinthepr operfunct
ioni
ngofgrowingpoi
nts(especi
all
y
r
ootti
ps),
maintai
ningstrongcellwal
l
sandseedsetincrops.

Sources
The mostcommon cal
cium sour
ces ar
e calci
um ni
trat
e,
calci
um chl
ori
de,l
ime,gypsum,calci
um chelat
es and some
organi
csour
ces.

Funct
ion
y Propercel
ldi
vi
sionandel
ongat
ion
yPr
opercel
lwal
l
dev
elopment
yNi
tr
ateupt
ake
andmet
abol
i
sm
y Enzy
meact
ivi
ty
y St
archmet
abol
i
sm

58
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Mobil
it
yandTr ansf or
mat i
on
yCat i
ons:Beingamaj orcat i
on, calcium avail
abili
tyisr el
atedto
thesoi
lCEC,andi tisincompet i
tionwi t
hot hermaj orcat i
ons
suchassodi um (Na+),pot assium ( K+)
,magnesi um ( Mg++)
,
Ammoni um (NH4+),i
ron(Fe++),andal uminum ( Al
+++)foruptake
bythecrop.Hi ghKappl icationshav ebeenknownt or educe
theCaupt akei napples,whi char eextremelysuscept i
bleto
poorCaupt akeandtranslocat i
onwi t
hinthetree.
ySodium (Na+)
:Highlevel
sofsoi lNawi l
ldispl
aceCaandl ead
to Cal eachi
ng.Thiscanr esulti
npoorsoi lstr
uctureand
possibleNat oxi
cit
ytot hecr op.Conversel
y,appl
icati
onsof
sol
ubl e Ca,typi
call
y as gy psum,ar e commonly used to
desalinat
esodicsoilsthrought hedispl
acementpr i
ncipl
ein
reverse.
yPhosphorus(P):Ast hesoilpHisi ncreasedabov epH7. 0,f
reeor
un-combinedCabegi nstoaccumul ateint hesoi l.ThisCai s
avail
abl
et ointeractwit
hot hernut ri
ents.SolublePi sananion,
meaningi thasanegat iv
echar ge.Anyf reeCar eactswithPt o
forminsolubl
e( orverysl
owl ysoluble)Ca- Pcompoundst hatare
notreadil
yavail
abletoplants.Sincet hereistypicall
ymuchmor e
avail
abl
eCai nt hesoilthanP,t hi
si nteract
ionsnear l
yal ways
resul
tsinlessPav ail
abi
li
ty.
yI
ron(Fe++)andAluminum (Al
+++)
:Ast
hepHofasoil
decr
eases,
moreoft heseelementsbecomesolubl
eandcombi
newithCa
t
oforessent i
all
yinsol
ubl
ecompounds.
yBor
on(B-)
:HighsoilorplantCalcium lev
elscaninhibi
tB
upt
akeandutil
i
zati
on.Cal
cium spraysandsoilappl
icati
ons
hav
ebeeneff
ecti
vel
yusedtohel
pdet oxi
fyBover-
appl
icati
ons.

Fact
orsAffecti
ngtheAvail
abil
it
yofCalcium t
oPl ant
s
yCal ci
um formsinsol
ubl
ecompoundswi thotherelement
sin
soil
,suchasphosphorous.Cal
cium t
hatisinthefor
m ofan
insol
ublecompoundisnotavai
l
abletopl
ants.

59
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

ySi
ncecalci
um i
saposit
ivel
ychar
gedion,i
tisadsor
bedi
nthe
soi
ltot hesur
faceofclayandorgani
cpar t
icl
eswhi
chare
negat
ivel
ychar
ged.
yPositi
vel
ychar gedi onsadsorbedt osoilpart
icl
esareter
med
"exchangeableions"becauset heycanbeexchangedbyot her
ionspresentint hesoilsol
uti
on.Soi lanal
ysisdeter
minest he
levelofexchangeabl ecal
cium ions,andnotthet ot
alcal
ci
um
insoil
,becauset heexchangeablecalcium i
stheform whi
chi s
avail
abletothepl ant.
ySoilpH -usual
lysoi
l
swi
thahi
gherpH l
evelcont
ainmor
e
avail
abl
ecalci
um.
yCEC -t hi
si sasoi lcharacteri
sti
ct hatdescri
best hetot
al
amountofposi ti
vel
ychargedex changeableionsthatthesoi
l
canhold.Ahi gherCECindicatesahighercapacityofthesoi
l
to adsorb and hol
d cal
cium,and t heref
orehighercalci
um
avail
abil
it
y.
yPresenceofcompet i
ngions-cal cium compet eswithother
positi
vel
ychargedions,suchassodi um (
Na+),potassi
um (K+)
,
andmagnesi um (
Mg2+).Applyingtoomuchoft heseposi
ti
vely
charged ions mightdecr ease calci
um upt ake by pl
ants.
Sodium ionscanr epl
acetheadsor bedcalcium,damagesoi l
struct
ureanddecreasescalcium avail
abi
l
ity
.
Magnesium
Magnesium (Mg),l
ikecalci
um,isusuall
ypresentinsuffi
ci
ent
quanti
ti
esinthesoilforplantgr
owth;andpasturedefi
cienci
esare
rar
e.Iti
sanessent i
alcomponentofchlorophyl
landisrequir
edfor
thetr
ansportofphosphorusaroundthepl
ant.

Sour ces
The appl
icat
ion ofdolomiti
cl i
mestone i
st he mostcost
effecti
vemet hod forapplyi
ng t
heMg t hatisneeded.TheMg
contentofdolomiticl
imestonevari
esfrom 8-
10%.Tobeeffect
ive,
this Mg source should be br
oadcastand incor
porat
ed bef
ore
planti
ng.

60
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Therear eferti
l
izersthatar ea combinati
on ofpotassi
um
sul
phateandmagnesi um sulphate.TheMgcont entis11%.The
sul
phur( S)concentr
ationi
s22% andt heK2Opercentagei
s22%.
Thi
sf er
til
izeri
seasilyusedinast ar
terf
ert
il
iz
erforcornorasan
Mgsour cewhent hereisnodesiretoincr
easesoi
lpH.

Forms
Magnesium i
nsoilsolut
ion–Magnesium i
nsoi
lsol
uti
onisi
n
equi
libr
ium withthe exchangeabl
e magnesi
um and i
sr eadi
l
y
avai
labl
eforplant
s.

Exchangeable magnesi um – Thisi sthe mosti mpor t

ant
fr
actionfordeter
mi ni
ngthemagnesi um t
hati
sav ail
abletoplants.
Thisfract
ionconsistsofthemagnesium hel
dbycl ayparti
cl
esand
organicmatter
.Iti
si nequil
i
brium wi
thmagnesium insoil
soluti
on.

Non-exchangeablemagnesium –Consist
softhemagnesi
um
thati
saconst it
uentofprimarymi ner
alsinthesoil
.Thebreak
downpr ocessofmi ner
alsinsoilsisv er
yslow;ther
efor
e,thi
s
magnesium fract
ioni
snotavail
abletoplant
s.

Magnesium Avai
labi
li
ty
yInlow-pHsoils,t
hesolubi
l
ityofmagnesi
um decr
easesandi
t
becomeslessavail
abl
e.
yDuet othelargehydratedradiusoft hemagnesium ion,the
strengt
hofitsbondt ot heexchangesitesi
nsoilisrelat
ivel
y
low.Acidi
csoil
sincreasethetendencyofmagnesium toleach,
becausetheyhavelessexchangeablesites(
lowerCEC).
yI
naddit
ion,i
nacidi
csoi
l
s,element
ssuchasmanganeseand
al
umini
um become mor e sol
ubl
e and r
esul
tinr educed
magnesi
um upt
ake.
yOt
her posi
ti
ve-
charged i
ons, such as potassi
um and
ammonium mayalsocompetewithmagnesi
um andreduce
i
tsupt
akeand

61
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

tr
anslocati
onfr
om t heroot
st oupperpl
antpart
s.Therefore,
excessiv
e appl
ications of t
hese nut
ri
ents might pr
ompt
magnesium defi
ciency.Careshouldbeespeciall
ytakeni n
sandysoi l
s,as theirCEC islow and t
heycan holdl ess
magnesium.
yThecalci
um,magnesium pl
aysani mpor
tantr
oleinthecat
ion
exchangecapaci
tyi
nt hesoil
.Howev er
,magnesium i
smor e
exchangeabl
ethancalci
um,andt hemagnesium ioni
smor e
solubl
eandsuscept
ibl
etoleachi
ng.

Magnesi
um i
nthesoi
l
yMagnesi um isabundanti ntheearth'scr ust.I
tisfoundi na
widev arietyofmi neral
s.Magnesi um becomesav ai
labl
ef or
plant use as t hese mi nerals weat her or break down.
Magnesi um isheldont hesurfaceofcl ayandor gani
cmat ter
parti
cles.Althought hi
sexchangeabl efor m ofMgi savai
lable
toplants,thisnutr
ientwi l
lnotreadi
lyleachf r
om soil
s.
yThelowlevelsofMgi nsoilscanoccurwher epot atoesaregrown
on acid sandy soi l
s orwher e cornf ollows a pot ato crop.
Somet i
mes,gr asst etany,al i
vestockdi sordercausedbyl ow
lev
elsofMgi nt hediet,isreport
edwher ehi ghr atesofpotash
havebeenappl i
edt ogr asspastures.Resear cht rial
s,howev er
,
haveshownt hattheuseofMgi naf erti
lizerprogr am f
orthese
pastur
eshasnoti ncreasedforagey i
elds.Fort hesesi t
uati
ons,it
islessexpensivetosuppl ementt heanimaldi etwi thasaltthat
contai
nsMg.

62
 Chapt
er9

Sour
ces,Forms,Mobi
lit
y,Transf
ormati
on,
Fi
xati
on,LossesandAvai
labil
it
yofSulphuri
nSoi
l

Sul
phur( S)isrequi
redforthef ormationofsev eralami no
aci
ds,pr
oteins,andvi
taminsandforchlorophyl
lproducti
on.Italso
hel
pstheplanttoresi
stst
ressfr
om weat her,
insect
sanddi seases

Sour
ces
Or
ganicmat t
er:About95per centoft het otalsul phurcontentof
mostsoi lsiscont ainedint heor ganicmat t
er .Ast hissoilor ganic
mat t
eri s broken down ordecomposed,t he or ganic sulphuri s
mineral
izedi ntothesul phatef orm.Sul phate-sul phurcant henbe
takenupbyt her ootsofgr owingpl ant
s.Br eakdownofal lthesul phur
i
nor ganicmat t
erdoesnotoccuri nasi ngley ear,butr atheri sa
conti
nuouspr ocessr equir
ingaconsi derableamountoft ime.The
retur
n ofcr op residues tot he soiladds t ot he poolofsul phur.
Nebraskasoi lscont aini
ng ov eroneper centor gani cmat t
erwoul d
rarel
yhaveanysul phurdef i
ciencyproblems.

Soi
lminerals:Sev er
almineral
sinthesoilcont
ainsul
phuri
n
di
ff
erentfor
ms.Ast hesemi ner
alsareweat
heredorbrokendown,
par
tofthesulphuristransfor
medt osul
phat
e-sul
phur.

63
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

For
msofsul
phur
Theyar esulphatesulphur(SO42-)suchasi nsuper phosphate,
andel ement alsulphur(Se),suchasusedi nt heHi -Fer tSuperM
rangeofpr oducts.Sulphatesulphur(SO42-)isr eadil
yav ai
lablefor
plantupt akeandmor eef f
ecti
veonv erylow sul phursoi l
s.The
element alform( Se)mustbeconv erted( oxi
dised)t ot hesul phate
form bef or
ei ti
sr eadi
l
yav ail
abl
et othepl ant.Ther efore,thismor e
slowlyav ail
ableform ofsulphur(inot herwor ds,Se)maybemor e
suitabl
eonsandysoi lsthathav elessor gani cmat terand ar e
susceptiblet ol eachi
ng.Wher e a soi ltestr eveals a sul phur
defici
ency ,thent hesulphateform( SO42-)wi l
lprov ideaqui cker
response.

El
ementalsul
phur(Se)appliedatar at
eofupt oabout30
kg/hahasnegl
igi
bleef
fectonsoilpropert
iesbut
,ifappl
iedi
nlar
ge
quanti
ti
es(
over300kg/ha),canl
owert hepHofsoi l
s.

Sul
phurReactionsinSoil
yMostoft hesulphurinsoi l
sisfoundsoi linorganicmatter
.
Howev er
,itisnotavai
labletoplantsinthisfor
m.I norderto
becomeav ail
abl
etoplant s,
thesulphurmustbef i
rstrel
eased
fr
om t he organi
c mat terand go t hrough mi ner
ali
zat
ion
process.
yTheminerali
zati
onpr ocessisar esul
tofmicr
obialact
ivi
ty.In
thi
sprocesssulphurisconvertedtothesul
phateform(SO42-)
,
whichi
sr eadi
lyavai
labletoplant
s.
y Theprocessi
saf
fect
edbyt
heC/
Srat
io,
temper
atur
eand
moi
stur
e.
yI
mmobil
izat
ionofsulphuristheopposi
tepr
ocessinwhi
ch
avai
l
abl
esulphat
eisconver
tedbacki
ntot
heorgani
cfor
m.
yDuetoi
tsnegat
ivechar
ge,
thesul
phat
einor
gani
cfor
m(SO42-)
ismobi
l
einsoil
s.
Thefor
m ofsul
phurtakenupbypl antsissul
phate-sul
phur
andmustbeconst
antl
yrepl
enished.Sul
phurf r
om al
lsourcesmust
ei
therbeint
hesul
phatefor
m orbeconv ertedtot
hesulphatefor
m
befor
eit
64
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

canbeusedbypl ants.Asmentionedabove,organicmat t
erist he
majorreser
v oi
rofsul
phurinmostsoil
s.Exceptforsulphurf
ert
il
izers
and ir
rigat
ion water
,t he ot
hersources li
sted contri
but
e mi nor
amounts.

Sul
phurcanber emov edfrom soil
si nsev eralways.Uptakeby
plantsisamaj orpathwayf orremov alofsoilsul phur.Leachingis
thesecondmaj orpathway .Sulphat
e-sulphuri ssi mil
artonitrat
e-
nitr
ogen,int hatbotharenegat i
velychargedandnothel dti
ghtlyby
clay parti
cles (which are also negatively char ged)
.Ther efore,
sulphurinthesoi lwatercanmov edownwar dt hrought hesoi
l.

Sul
phurcy
cle
Thesul phurcycl ei sshowni nsignif
icantamount sofsul phurar e
remov edthroughmeatandpl antsharvestedf orfodder ,butonl ysmal l
amount sarer emov edt hr
oughmi lk.Inthepast ,sul phurdef ici
enci es
havebeenr arebecausemostf armersusedl ow- analysisf erti
l
iser s,
suchassi nglesuper phosphat e,whichcont ai
nshi ghl evelsofsul phur
(11%). Howev er
,i f hi gh-
analysi
s f ertil
i
sers, such as t r i
ple
superphosphateandDAP ar eused,t hent hepot enti
alf orsul phur
defi
cienci
esmayi ncr easebecauset hesef ert
il
iserscont ain much
l
owerl evelsofsulphur .Forexampl e,tr
iplesuper phosphat econt ains
only1%S

65
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Lossesofsul phur
Cropupt akeandr emov al
Upt akeofSf rom thesoi lvar
ieswithcropandt hey i
eldoft hat
crop.Ingener al
,relat i
velysmallamount sofSar eabsor bed( t
aken
up)bycr ops.Forf oragecr opslikealfal
faandcor nsilage,cr op
uptakeequal sremov al.Alfal
fawillremoveappr oxi
mat el
y5. 4lb.S
peracref oreacht onofhaypr oduced.Cor nharvestedf orsil
age
canr emov ebet ween25 and 30 l b.S peracr e;wher eas,cor n
harvestedf orgrain( 200bu.peracr ecor ncrop)willremov eabout
16lb.Speracr e.Wheat( 80buperacr ecrop)wi l
lremov eabout8
l
b.Speracr einthegr ain.InMinnesota,
fert
ili
zerrecommendat i
ons
forSar enotadj ustedf ory i
eldgoal.Therefore,thereisnor eal
needt or emembert heexactamount sofSr emov edbyt hev ari
ous
crops.

Leaching
Nitr
ate,SO4-Sismobi leinsoil
sandcanbemov edoutoft he
rootzonebyl eaching.TheSO4--Sdoesnotl eachasr api
dlyas
nit
rate-
nit
rogen( NO3-N).But,excessiv
er ai
nfallorirr
igati
onwat er
can mov e SO4- S below the rootzone,especi al
l
y on wel lor
excessiv
elydrained(coarsetextur
ed)soil
s.LeachingofSO4- Sfrom
therootzoneofpoor lydrai
ned(medi um andfine-t
extured)soi
ls.

WhenSi sdefici
ent
, gr
owthisreducedandmat uri
tyisdelayed.
Withi nadequate suppl
iesofS,t hereisa r educti
on in protei
n
formationwithasubsequenty el
l
owi ngofthef ol
iage.Wi t
hal f
alf
a
andr edclover,theentir
el eafareahasal i
ghtgreencol our.The
l
eav esonSdef i
cientcornbecomel ightgreen.Plantanalysiscan
beusedasamanagementt oolfordetecti
ngshor tagesofSi n
crops.Defici
ent,
mar gi
nal,andsuffi
cientl
evelsofSinpl antti
ssue

66
 Chapt
er10

Sources,For
ms,
Mobi l
it
y,Transformat
ion,Fixat
ion,
LossesandAvai
labi
li
tyofMi cr
onutr
ientinSoil

Mol y bdenum
Mol ybdenum ( Mo)i sessent ialfort heheal t
hoft her hizobia
bact eria associated wi tht he legume r ootnodul es t hatar e
responsi blef orat mospher ic nit
rogen f i
xat i
on.Mol ybdenum i s
i
nv olved i n enzyme sy stems r elati
ng t o ni tr
ogen f i
xation by
bact eriagrowingsy mbi oticall
ywi t
hl egumes.Ni trogenmet abol i
sm,
proteinsy nt
hesisandsul phurmet abolism ar eal soaf fectedby
mol ybdenum.Mol ybdenum has a si gnif
icantef fecton pol len
format ion, so f r
ui t and gr ain f ormat ion ar e af f
ect ed i n
mol ybdenum- deficientpl ants.Becausemol y bdenum r equirement s
are so l ow,mostpl antspeci es do notexhi bi
tmol ybdenum-
deficiencysy mpt oms.Thechar acteristi
cmol ybdenum def i
ciency
sympt om insomev egetablecropsi si rr
egul arleafbladef ormat ion
knownaswhi pt
ail,buti ntervei
nalmot tli
ngandmar gi
nalchl orosis
ofol derleavesalsohav ebeenobser ved.

67
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Sour
ces
Pr
oduct ChemicalFormul
a Mo-Cont
ent
Sodi
um Mol
ybdate Na2MoO4.
2H2O 39%
Moly
bdenum Tr
ioxide MoO3 66%
Ammonium Mol
y bdate (
NH4)6Mo7O24.
2H2O 54%

Alt
hough mol ybdenum is a met al
,itoccur si n aqueous
soluti
onmai nl
yasmol ybdateanion,MoO4-.Molybdateseemst o
ber elat
ivelymobileinplantsandhi gherconcentrati
onscanbe
found inr oot
st han leaves when suppli
es arel imited.Leaf
concentrationsmayr i
seasmol ybdenum suppli
esi ncrease.The
mol y
bdenum r equi
rementislowestofanymineralexceptincertai
n
species,nickel
.

In soi
l
s wi t
hl ow moly
bdenum av ail
abili
ty,the effectof
appli
cati
onofmol y
bdenum tol egumesdependsont heform of
ni
trogensupply(fi
xedN2oraddedi norganicNf er
til
i
zer).Theyiel
d
enhancementofadequat el
yr hizobialinfected soy beans fr
om
addedmol ybdenum wi l
lbehigherwhenf er
til
izernitr
ogeni snot
addedbecauseN2f ixat
ioni
sfacili
tatedbymol ybdenum.

Nitratereducti
on
I
nplantsandsomeani malsthefi
rststageinthereductionof
nit
rateistonitr
it
e.Thereduct
ioniscatal
ysedbynitrat
er eductase,
af l
avoprotei
nenzymewhi chhasmol ybdenum ast heonl ymet al
requir
ement .Molybdenum acts as an elect
ron acceptorf rom
reducedFADi ntheenzyme.

Ni
tr
ogenf
ixat
ion
Themi croorganismswhi chf i
xmol ecularnit
rogenf al
lintot wo
cl
asses:( a)t he symbi oti
c microorgani
sms whi ch f i
x ni
trogen i n
associati
on wi th pl ants, e. g., Rhizobium; ( b) asy mbiotic
microorganisms whi ch ar e free-l
ivi
ng and i nclude Azotobact er
vi
nelandiiandCl ostr
idium pasteur i
anum.From cell-
freeextr
actsofC.
pasteuri
anum, twomet alloprot
einshavebeenobt ained.Thehy drogen
donatingsystem,

68
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

azofer
redoxi
n,whichcontainsir
onandsul f
ideandtheni
tr
ogen
acti
vat
ing sy st
em, mol y
bdof
err
edoxi
n, whi ch contai
ns
molybdenum,ir
on,andsul
fide.

Fact
orsAffect
ingAv ail
abi
li
ty
yLeachingSoilConditi
ons:Av
ail
abl
esoi
lMoi
sanani
on,
andi
s
ther
eforel
eachable.
ySoilpH:Molybdenum ist
heonlymi cronutrientthathasincr
eased
avail
abil
i
ty as the pH increases.Ata soi lpH abov e 6.5,
unnecessaryMoappl i
cat
ionscanr esul
ti nMot oxi
cit
ytothecrop,
toanimalseat i
ngt hecr
op,ori tmayi nducedef ici
enci
esofan
el
ementl ist
edbel ow.AtpH' sbelow 6. 0,av ail
abil
i
tyisrapidly
dimini
shed because Mo is easil
y" f
ixed"i nt he soilbyfree
Fe(OH)3,AI(OH)3andFe2O3.
ySoi
lSatur
ati
on:Iti
sbel i
evedbysomer esear
cher
sthati
n
sat
urat
edsoi
ls,
Moav ai
l
abili
tyi
sincr
easedsomewhat.
yMo:S Bal ance: Some wor k has shown t hat sul
fat
e
appl
icat
ionscancauseareducti
oninMouptakebyplant
s.
yMo:P Balance:Applicati
ons ofP haveincreased t
he Mo
contentofpl ant
si n some resear
ch.I
tist houghtthatP
reducest
headsor pt
ionofMocompoundsi nthesoil
.
yNH4: NO3 Bal
ance:Plant
scanoftengrowwelli
nlowMosoils
when ferti
li
zed wit
h NH4 fer
ti
lizer
s,as opposed t
o NO3
fer
ti
li
zer
s.
Copper
Copper( Cu)isr equir
edf ort hef ormati
onofenzy mesf or
chlorophyll producti
on, nutri
ent pr ocessing and t he pl ant '
s
exchange ofwat erand oxy gen f orcar bon dioxide.Iti s al so
requiredforseedset t
ingoflegumes.Copperi spresentinpl ant sin
compl exedform.Li keotherpotenti
allytoxicheav ymetals,copper
i
n excess i s bound t o phytochelati
ns and sul phurcont aining
peptides.Copperi s necessaryf orcar bohydrate and ni trogen
met aboli
sm and, i
nadequatecopperr esult
sinstunt i
ngofpl ant s.

69
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Sour
ce
Product Chemi
calFor
mul
a Cu-Cont
ent
CopperSulphate
Monohydrate CuSO4.
H2O 35%
CopperSulphate
Pent
ahydrate CUSO4.5H2O 25%
Cupri
cOxide CUO 75%
CopperChloride CUCl2 17%
CopperChelates CuEDTA 8-13%

Foliarapplicat
ionsofCucanbeanef fecti
vewayt ocor rectCu
deficienciesi n smallgrains.The stage ofgr owth att he ti
me of
applicati
on has a maj ori nfl
uence on the effect
iveness oft he
treatment .Resultsfrom researchinnort
hwest er
nMi nnesotaindicate
thatappl icati
onsatt heti
lleri
ngstagearemostef fect
iveincor r
ecting
deficiencies.Coppersulfat eisthemostcommonl yusedmat eri
alfor
foli
arappl icat
ions.

Soi
lappl i
cati
onsofCul astf
ormanyy ear
s.Copperbecomes
att
achedtot hesoilorgani
cmat t
erandisnotmov edthroughthe
soi
lbywat er.Leachi
ngisprevent
ed,butt
heCui ssti
llavai
labl
eto
pl
ants.Ift he soiltestforCu i sint he hi
gh range,annual
appli
cat
ionsofCuar enotneeded.

Sincel
argeamount sofCui nsoi
lscanbet oxictoplant
s,i
tis
i
mpor t
antt o accur
atelycontrolappl
icat
ions.To av oi
dt oxi
cit
y
pr
oblems,annualapplicat
ionsofCushoul dcert
ainlybelessthan
40lb.peracr
e.Toxici
typroblemsaredi
ffi
cultt
ocor r
ect.

For
ms
Copperinsol uti
onispr esentascuprous(Cu+)andcupr ic(Cu++)
.
Cupr ouscopperisr eadi
lyoxidizedtocupri
candsocupr ouscopperi s
onlyf ound i
n compl exed forms.Cupr ous compl exes are usuall
y
colour l
ess,whereast hecupr iccomplexesareof tenblueorbr own.
Copperi san activatorofsev eralenzy
me sy stemsi n plantsand
functions in el
ect r
on transportand ener gy capture by oxidat
ive
proteinsandenzy mes.I tmaypl ayar ol
einv i
taminApr oducti
on.A
deficiencyint
erf
ereswi t
h
70
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

protei
nsy nt
hesis.Nat
ivecoppersupplyhasbeenrecogni
zedonl
y
rarel
yasneedi ngsuppl ement
ati
on.Somet reecropsgr ownon
organicsoil
sorsandsmayneedsuppl ement
ati
on.Coppercanbe
toxicatlowlevelssoaneedshoul dbef i
rml
yestabl
ishedpri
ort
o
supplementati
on. Defi
ciency symptoms vary greatl
y among
species.
Transf or mation
TheamountofCuav ail
ablet oplantsv ari
eswi delybysoi ls.
AvailableCucanv aryfrom 1t o200ppm ( partspermi l
li
on)inbot h
miner alandor ganicsoilsasaf uncti
onofsoi lpHandsoi ltexture.
The f iner-t
extured mineralsoi ls general
ly containt he highest
amount sofCu.Thel owestconcent r
ati
onsar eassociatedwi ththe
organi corpeatsoi l
s.Av ai
labil
it
yofCui srel
at edtosoilpH.Assoi l
pHi ncr eases,theavail
abili
tyoft hisnutri
entdecr eases.Copperi s
notmobi l
einsoi l
s.Iti
sat t
ractedt osoilorganicmat terandcl ay
miner als.Theamountofav ail
ableCui smeasur edbyext racti
ng
thesoi lwithaDTPA sol uti
on.Theconcent rat
ionofCui nt he
extr
acti sthenmeasur ed.Thi spr ocedureisthemostr eli
ableand
accur ateformeasur i
ngCui nsoils.
Zinc
Zi
nc( Zn)isassoci
atedwit
hthefor
mationofchlor
ophy
lland
ofseveralenzymesy st
emsrequir
edforpr
oteinsynt
hesi
s.I
talso
hasar egulat
oryroleintheint
akeandeff
icientuseofwaterby
pl
ants

Sour
ces
Product Chemi calFor
mul
a Zn-Cont ent
Zi
ncSul
phate ZnSO4.H2O 36%
Zi
ncOxy-Sul
phat
e ZnO-ZnSO4 38-50%
Zi
ncOxi
de ZnO 50-80%
Zi
ncChl
oride ZnCl
2 50%
Zi
ncEDTAChelat
e ZnEDTA 6-14%
Zi
ncHEDTAChelate ZnHEDTA 6-10%

Zi
ncexit
snat
ural
l
yinrocks.Theamountofzi
ncpresenti
nthe
soi
ldependsont
heparentmateri
alsoft
hatsoi
l
.Sandyandhighl
y
l
eached
71
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

aci
dsoilsgeneral
lyhav elowplantavailabl
ezi nc.Mi neralsoi
l
swi t
h
l
ow soilorgani
cmat teralsoexhi bi
tzi ncdef i
ciency .Incontr
ast,
soi
lsori
ginat
ingfrom igneousr ocksar ehigherinz inc.Plant
stake
upzincasthedivalentionicf
orm( Zn2+)andchel ated-zinc.
Zincisanessent ialcomponentofv ari
ousenzy mesy stems
forener gypr oducti
on,pr otei
nsy nt
hesis,andgr owt hr egul ati
on.
Zincdef ici
entpl antsal so exhibitdelayed maturi
ty.Zi nci snot
mobi leinplantssozi nc-defici
encysy mptomsoccurmai nlyinnew
growt h.Poormobi l
i
tyinpl ant
ssuggest st heneedf oraconst ant
supplyofav ailabl
ezincf oropti
mum gr owth.Themostv isi
blezi nc
defici
encysy mpt omsar eshor tint
ernodesandadecr easei nl eaf
size.Delayedmat uri
tyal soisasy mptom ofzi nc-
def
icientpl ants.

Fact
orsAf f
ecti
ngZnAv ai
labil
it
y
ySoi lpH:Znavai
l
abi
l
ityoft
endecr
easesaspHi
ncr
eases,
howev
er
thi
s ef f
ecti
s notuniv
ersal
.This ef
fectcan be temporar
il
y
overcome bythe pr
acti
ce ofband appl
icat
ions ofaci
d-t
ype
fer
ti
lizer
s.
yZn:PBal
ance:Hi
ghlev
elsofsoi
lPar
ecommonl
yresponsi
ble
forZndef
ici
enci
es.
yOr
gani
cMat t
er:Organi
cmat terisasour
ceofZn,andt he
or
gani
ccompoundsi nO.M.canchel
atei
norgani
csour
cesof
Znandi
ncr
easetheirav
ail
abi
li
ty.
yNi
trogenStr
ess:Low N avail
abil
it
ydecreasesthev i
gorof
pl
antsto an ext
entthatitmayf ai
ltotake up adequate
amountsofmanyothernut
ri
ents.Zi
ncuptakecanbeaffected
i
nthisway.
ySoilSaturati
on:Whi l
e Zn does notunder go the v
alence
changest hatMndoesi nsatur
atedsoils,r
esearchhasshown
thatrice cannottake up Zn as effecti
vel
yunderf looded
condit
ions.The causes of t his condit
ion appeart o be
appli
cabletoothercr
opsinonedegr eeoranot her
.

72
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

yZn:
CuBalance:Pl
antroot
sappeart
oabsor bZnandCubythe
samemechanism.Thiscausesint
erf
erenceintheupt
akeof
onewhentheotheri
sinexcessi
ntherootzone.
yZn:MnBal ance:Resear chr esult
shaveindicatedev
idenceof
an incidence ofi nter
actions between Zn and Mn.Some
resul
tsi ndicate an antagonisti
cr el
ati
onship,whi
le others
indi
cateasy mpatheti
cr elati
onshi
p.Certainworkindicates
thatspeci f
iccultiv
arswi thinspeciesmayhav east ronger
reacti
ont osoilZn:Mnbalances.
yZn:MgBal
ance:Ithasbeenrepor
tedt
hataddi
ti
onsofMgcan
incr
easet
heuptakeofZinc.
yZn:AsBalance:Hi
ghlevelsofar
seni
cint hesoil
,asof ten
found in old or
char
d soil
s,can ser
iousl
yi nhi
bit both
PhosphorusandZi
ncuptake.
yZinc def
iciencies are mai nl
yf ound on sandysoi l
sl ow i n
organicmat terandonor ganicsoi l
s.Zincdef i
cienci
esoccur
mor eoft
endur i
ngcol d,wetspringweat herandar erelatedt o
reducedr ootgr owt handact i
vityaswel lasl owermi cr obial
acti
vit
ydecr easeszi ncreleasefrom soilorganicmat t
er .Zinc
uptakebypl antsdecr easeswi t
hi ncr
easedsoi lpH.Upt akeof
zincalso isadv ersel
yaf fect
ed byhi ghl evelsofav ail
able
phosphorusandi roninsoils.
Manganese
Manganese (Mn)hassev er
alplant
-gr
owthf uncti
ons.I
tis
closelyassociat
edwi t
hiron,
copperandzi
ncasacat aly
stinpl
ant
-
growthpr ocesses;isessent
ialf
orrapi
dgerminati
on;andplay
sa
roleinenzymesy stemsinseedandnewt i
ssues.

Themainf actorcontrol
li
ngmanganeseav ail
abil
it
yinthesoi li
s
pH.Themor ealkali
net hesoil
,themor el
ikel
ydefi
cienci
eswilloccur
.
Conver
sely
,veryst rongl
yacidicsoilscanaccumulatetoxi
clevelsof
manganese, and l i
me should be consi der
ed. Occasionall
y,a
manganesedeficiencycanbei nducedbyexcessi
vel i
mingont hese
aci
dsoil
s.

73
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Sour
ces
Product Chemi calFor
mul
a Mn-Cont ent
ManganeseSulphat
e MnSO 4.
4H 2O 23-28%
ManganeseOxide MnO 41-68%
ManganeseChelate Var
ious 5-
12%

Fact
orsAf f
ectingAvailabi
li
ty
ySoi lpH:HighsoilpHr educesMnavai
labil
it
ywhilelowsoi
lpH
wil
l i
ncreaseavai
labil
it
y,event
othepointoftoxi
cit
y.
yOrgani
cMat ter
:Mncanbe" t
iedup"byt heor
gani
cmat
ter
suchthathi
ghO.M.soi
l
scanbeMndefici
ent.
ySoilMoi sture:Undershor t
-ter
m wat erl
oggedcondi t
ions,plant
availableMn++ canber educedt oMn+,whi chi sunav ai
labl
et o
plants.Howev er,underl ong-t
erm reducing (e.g.wat er
logged)
condi t
ions,availableMncanbei ncr eased.Assoi ldries,Mn
availabil
it
y under goes changes. Some unav ai
labl
e Mn+ i s
oxidizedt oav ail
ableMn++,whi lesomeav ai
lableMn++ canbe
oxidizedt ounav ai
labl
eMn++.Whent hesoi lisintransiti
onf r
om
fl
oodedt onor malmoi sturecontent
,t herecanbeat emporary
"fl
ush"ofexcess Mn++ gi vi
ng the possibili
tyofa t emporary
toxicit
y,especi all
yi fothercondi t
ions ar ef avorablet ot he
presenceofexcessMn++.
yMn:FeBalance:Soil
shighi
nav ai
l
abl
eIr
on(
Fe)
,orhi
ghFe
appli
cat
ionscanreduceMnupt
ake.
yMn:PBal ance:Ther eisconfl
i
ctingresearchthathighsoilP
canei t
herincrease,ordecr
easeMnupt akebyv ari
ousplant
s
species.Untilmoredefi
nit
eevidenceisav ai
l
able,weprobabl
y
shouldnoti ncl
udet hesoi
lPlevelinourconsiderati
onofMn
avai
labil
it
y.
yMn:ZnBal ance:Therei
sconfli
cti
ngresear
chhighsoi lZncan
ei
theri ncrease,ordecrease Mn uptake by vari
ous plant
species.Untilmor
edefini
teevi
denceisavai
labl
e,wepr obably
shouldnoti ncl
udethesoi
lZnleveli
nourconsiderat
ionofMn
avai
labil
it
y.

74
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

yMn: Mo Bal ance: One r esear cher obser ved t hat Mn

concent rati
onswer er educedi nhal fbymol ybdenum ( Mo)
ferti
lization.Thi sl i
mi tedev i
denceshoul dnotbeusedt omake
Mor ecommendat i
onsduet ot hepossi blet oxicr eactionsof
high Mo cont ent st hatcoul d occuri n ani malsgr azing or
eatingt hecr opsgr ownonhi ghMosoi ls.
yMn: Si Bal ance: Resear ch has shown t hat si l
icon ( Si
)
appl i
cat i
onscanal tert heMndi stributioninl eaftissuei nsuch
awayast or educet hepossi bi
li
tyofMnt oxici
tyf r
om excess
Mnupt ake.
yNSTRESS:LowNav ail
abi li
tydecr easest hev i
gorofpl ant sto
anext entt hati tmayf ailtot akeupadequat eamount sof
manyot hernut r
ients.Manganeseupt akecanbeaf fect edin
thisway .
yMn: SBal ance:TheSul furi nteract i
oni spr imar i
lyone- way ,as
theSul furcont entoft hepl antisdi minishedsoal soi st he
Manganesecont ent.
yMn: Ani on Bal ance: Heav y f ertil
iz
ation wi t
h mat erial
s
- - --
cont aining Cl ,NO3,SO4 ,can al so enhance Mn upt ake
(termedt heani onef fect ).
Iron
Ir
on(Fe)isassoci atedwiththeproducti
onofchlor
ophyl
land
helpstocarryoxygenar oundtheplantcel
l
s.Ironi
salsoinv
olv
edin
react
ionsthatconvertnitr
atestoammoni ainthepl
ant.

Sour
ce
Product ChemicalFormula Fe-Content
Fer
rousSul
phat
e FeSO4.7H2O 20%
(NH4) SO
2 4 .
FeSO4.
6H2
Fer
rousAmmoni
um Sul eO
phat 14%
I
ronDTPAChel
ate FeDTPA 10%
I
ronHEDTAChel
ate FeHEDTA 5-12%

Fact
orsAf
fect
ingAvai
labi
li
ty
ySoilpH:Highsoi
lpH reducesFeav
ail
abi
l
itywhi
l
eaci
dsoi
l
s
i
ncr
ease Fe av
ail
abi
l
ity
.The hi
gh pH ef
fecti
sincr
eased i
n
wat
erl
ogged,
75
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

compact ed,orot herpoor

lyaerat
edsoils.Onefactorinthis
effectist hepr esenceofhighcarbonat
esi nthesoil,which
also pl aysar olei n wat
erl
ogged soils and i
nt he root
rhizospherer eactiontocert
ainothernutri
entsandf er
ti
li
zer
sour ces.
yLow Organi
cMat ter
:Inaddi
ti
onto bei
ng asour
ceofFe,
organi
cmat t
ercompoundsareabl
et ofor
m Fecompl
exes
thati
mproveavai
l
abil
it
y.
ySat
urat
ed,Compacted,orOtherPoorl
yAeratedSoi
ls:Inacidsoi
ls,
thi
scondi
ti
oncanincreaseFeav ai
l
abil
it
y(tothepointoftoxi
cit
y).
yHighSoilP:Excessi
veamountsofsol
ubl
eP, orhi
ghrat
esofP
fert
il
izer
,havebeendemonst
ratedtoi
nhi
bitFeuptakei
nmany
crops.
yFor
m ofN Appli
ed:I
ncr
easedNO3-
N uptakecanreduceFe
upt
akebycausi
nganani
on-
cati
oni
mbalancei
ntheplant
.
yFe:
ZnBalance:Zndef
ici
encyhasbeenshownt oi
ncr
easethe
Feuptakeofmanycrops,sometimestothepoi
ntoftoxi
ci
ty.
Conver
sely
,highZnav
ail
abil
it
yreducesFeupt
ake.
yFe:
MnBalance:I
tiswelldocumentedthatt
hesetwoelements
areant
agoni
sti
c,andonewi l
li
nhi
bittheupt
akeoftheother
.
yK:FeBal ance:Kappearst oplayav eryspeci
fi
c,butpoorl
y
understood rol
eint he uti
li
zati
on ofFe.Some r esear
ch
indi
catesthatlow K avai
labi
li
tycanr esul
tinincreasedFe
uptake.
yFe:Mo Bal
ance:Hi gh l
evel
s ofav ail
able Mo can reduce the
uptakeofFebycausi ngtheprecipi
tati
onofi r
onmol y bdateon
therootsurfaces.Thi
sisespeciall
yimpor t
antinalkalinesoil
s
wherethehighpHr educestheavail
abil
it
yofFewhi l
ei ncreasi
ng
thatofMo.
yHCO3-:Ir
ondefi
ci
encycanbeinducedbythepresenceoft
he
bi
car
bonat
eioni
nthesoil
(sal
i
neandalkal
icondit
ions)
.
Bor
on
Boron (B) i
s mainl
yinvol
ved int he movementof sugar
s
t
hroughouttheplantandi
nseedproduct
ioninlegumes.I
tisal
soan
i
mpor t
ant
76
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

nut
ri
ent int he metaboli
sm of nit
rogen,carbohydrat
es,and
hor
mones and i sinv
olved i
nthe uptake and ef
fi
cientuse of
cal
cium i
ntheplant
.

Source
Product Chemi calFor mul
a Bo-Content
Borax Na2B4O7.10H2O 11%
Bori
cAci d H3BO3 17%
Sodium Tetr
abor
ate Na2B4O7.(0-10)H2O 10-
20%
Sol
ubor Na2B10O16.0H2O 20%

Fact
orsAf fect
ingAv ail
abili
ty
ypH:Hi ghpHr educes, andlowpHenhancesav ailabil
it
y.
yLeachi ngcondi tions:Bi smobi le,socoar sesoi lsandhi gh
rai
nfallmaycauset empor arysoi
lshor t
ages.
yLow OM:Or ganicmat t
erisar eservoirforB,andmanyot her
nutri
ents
yLow Moi st
ur e:Bor onupt akeisinpar tdeter
mi nedbywat er
uptake rat
e,t her efor
e droughtr educes B upt ake.Also,B
defi
ciencyreducesr ootgrowth,t
husaggr avat
ingt heBstress.
ySoilCa: BBal ance:Somewor khasi ndicatedthathighsoilCa
l
ev els,independentofsoilpH canreduceB uptake.Inmost
sit
uat i
onshowev er
,hi
ghsoilCawillbeaccompaniedbyhigher
soilpH,andt hepH effectwil
ldominat
e.InsomecasesofB
toxicit
y,appli
cati
onsofasol ubl
eform ofCahaver educedthe
toxiceffects.
yK:B Balance:Work has shown thathigh K r
ates can
somet
imesdepresscor
nyi
eldsifBi
slimi
ti
ng.
yZn:B andP:B Bal ance:Workwi t
hbar l
eyshowedthatZn
appl
icat
ions can r
educe B accumulat
ion.Thi
s same work
showedt hathi
ghPappli
cat
ionsincr
easedBaccumulat
ion.
yN St
ress:Low Navai
labil
i
tydecreasest
hevi
gorofplant
sto
anextentthati
tmayf ai
ltotakeupadequateamountsof
manyot hernut
ri
ent
s.Bor onuptakecanbeaffect
edinthi
s
way.

77
 Chapt
er11

Fer
ti
li
zer
s-Def
ini
ti
on,Cl
assifi
cat
ionofN,
PandK
Fert
il
izer
s

Ferti
li
zer
Af er
ti
li
zerisanymater
ialofnat
uralorsy
nthet
icori
gint
hati
s
appli
edt osoilsorplanttosupplyoneormor eplantnut
ri
ent
s
essenti
altothegrowt
hofplants.

Cl
assi
fi
cat
ionofFer
ti
li
zer
s

78
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

1. Str
aightfer
til
izers:Str
aightfer
ti
li
zer
sarethosewhi chsupply
onl
yonepr imar yplantnutri
ent
,namelyni
trogen,phosphorus
orpot assi
um.eg.Ur ea,ammoni um sul
phate,pot assi
um
chl
orideandpot assi
um sulphat
e.

2. Compl exf ert

ili
zers:Complexfer
ti
li
zerscontaint
woort hree
pri
mar yplantnut ri
entsofwhichtwopr i
mar ynut
ri
entsarein
chemicalcombi nati
on.Thesefer
ti
li
sersareusuall
yproduced
i
n gr anular f orm. eg. Di ammoni um phosphate,
ni
trophosphat esandammoni um phosphate.

3. Mixedfert
il
izers:arephysi
calmixt
uresofst
raightfer
ti
li
sers.
Theycontaint wo ort hr
ee pri
maryplantnutri
ents.Mixed
fer
til
i
ser
s are made byt hor
oughl
ymi xi
ng the ingr
edi
ents
eit
hermechanicall
yormanually
.

Fer
ti
li
serscanalsobecl
assi
fi
edbasedonphy
sical
for
m:
1. Soli
d
2. Li
quidfer
ti
li
zer
s

Sol
i
df erti
li
zer sareinsev er
al formsv i
z.
1. Powder( si
ngl
esuper phosphat e)
,
2. Crystals(ammoni um sulphate),
3. Pril
ls(urea,di
ammoni um phosphate,super
phosphat
e),
4. Granules( Hol
landgranules),
5. Supergranules(ureasuper granul
es)and
6. Briquettes(ur
eabr i
quettes).

79
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Ammonium
Ur
eapr
il
ls Gr
anul
atedur
ea
sul
phat
e
Li
qui
dferti
li
zers:
1. Li
quidformferti
l
izer
sar
eappl
i
edwi
thi
rr
igat
ionwat
erorf
or
di
rectappl
icat
ion.

2. Easeofhandling,l
essl abourr
equi
rementandpossi
bil
i
tyof
mixingwithherbi
cideshavemadet heli
qui
dfer
ti
li
ser
smor e
acceptabl
etofarmers.

80
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Ammoniacal Nit
rat
e Ammoni
acaland Amidef
ert
il
izer
Ammonium Sodium Ammoni
um Nit
rat
e Ur
ea
Sul
phat
e Ni
tr
ate
Cal
cium
Ammonium Cal
cium Ammoni um Cal
cium
chl
ori
de Nit
rate Nit
rate
Anhydr
ous Potassi
um Ammoni um Cy
nami
de
ammonia Nit
rate Sul
phateNitr
ate
Anhydr
ous Potassi
um Ammoni um Cy
nami
de
ammonia Nit
rate Sul
phateNitr
ate

A.Ni
tr
ogenousf
ert
il
izer
s
Ferti
li
zerName N%
Ammoni um- N-Fer t
il
izer
Ammoni um Nitrate 34
Nit
rochalk 25-
28
Ammoni um Sul phate 21
Nit
rate-
N-Fer t
ilizer
Potassi
um nitrate 13
Sodium ni
trate 16
Calcium nit
rat
e 12-
15
Ami deNitrogen-
Fer
ti
li
zer
Urea 46
Ureacoat ed 30-
36
UreaI BDU,CDU 30-
34

1. Nit
rogenous f
ertil
i
zer
st ake t
he foremost pl
ace among
fer
ti
li
zerssi
ncet hedefi
ciencyofnit
rogeninthesoi
listhe
for
emostandcr opsrespondtonit
rogenbett
erthantoot
her
nutr
ient
s.
2. Moret
han80percentofthefer
ti
lizersusedinthi
scount
ry
ar
emadeupofnit
rogenousfert
il
izers,par
ti
cularl
yur
ea.

81
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

3. Iti
sextr
emelyeff
ici
enti
nincreasi
ngtheproduct
ionofcr
ops
andthepossi
bil
i
tiesofi
tseconomicproducti
onareunl
imit
ed.

1.Ammoniacalf
erti
li
zers
1. Ammoniacalf
erti
l
izer
scont
ainthenut
ri
entni
tr
ogeni
nthe
for
m ofammonium orammonia.
2. Ammoni acalfert
il
izer
sarer
eadil
ysolubl
einwat
erand
ther
efor
er eadil
yav ai
l
abl
etocrops.
3. Exceptr
ice,al
lcropsabsorbnitr
ogeni nnit
rat
efor
m.These
fer
ti
li
zer
sar eresi
stanttoleachi
ngloss,ast heammonium
i
onsgetreadil
yabsorbedonthecoll
oidalcompl
exoft
hesoil
.

a)Ammoni um Sul
phat e[
(NH4)2SO4]
1. Iti
sawhi t
esaltcomplet
elysol
ublei
nwat ercontai
ning20.
6
.
percentofni
trogenand24.0percentofsulphur.
2. I
tisusedadv
ant
ageousl
yinr
iceandj
utecul
ti
vat
ion.
3. I
tiseasytohandl
eanditst
oreswell
underdr
ycondi
ti
ons.But
dur
ingrai
nyseason,
itsomet
imesformslumps.
4. I
tcanbeappl
i
edbeforesowing,att
het
imeofsowi
ngorasa
t
op-dr
essi
ngt
othegrowingcrop.

b)Ammoni
um Chl
ori
de(
NH4Cl
-)
1. I
tisawhi
tesal
tcont
ains26.
0percentofni
tr
ogen.
2. I
tisusual
lynotr
ecommendedfortomato,t
obaccoandsuch
ot
hercropsasmaybeinj
uredbychlor
ine.

c)AnhydrousAmmoni a(
NH4)
1. Itisacolour
lessandpungentgascont
aini
ng82.
0percent
ni
tr
ogen.
2. I
tisthecheapestandcanbeappl
i
eddir
ectl
ytosoilby
i
nject
ionusi
ngbladetypeappl
i
cat
orhavi
ngtubes.

82
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

3. Itbecomesli
qui
d(anhydr
ousammonia)undersui
tabl
e
conditi
onsoft
emperat
ureandpr
essure.

2.Ni
tr
ateFer
ti
li
zer
s
1. Ni
tr
atef
ert
il
izer
scont
aint
heni
tr
ogeni
nthef
orm ofNO3
2. Thesei
onsar
eeasil
ylostbyl
eachi
ngbecauseoft
hegr
eat
er
mobil
it
yofni
tr
atei
onsinthesoi
l.
3. Conti
nuoususeoft hesefert
il
izer
smayreducet
hesoilacidi
ty
asthesenitrogenousf er
ti
li
zersarebasicinthei
rresidual
ef
fectonsoi
ls.

a)Sodi
um Ni
tr
ate(
NaNO3)
1. Sodi
um ni
tr
atei
sawhi
tesal
tcont
aini
ngabout15.
6percent
ofni
tr
ogen.
2. I
tiscomplet
elysol
ubl
einwaterandreadil
yavail
abl
efort
he
useofpl
antsassuch,
withoutanychemicalchangei
nthesoi
l
.
3. I
tiseasi
l
ylostbyl
eachi
nganddeni
tr
if
icat
ion.
4. Whenl ar
gequanti
ti
esofsodi um nit
rateareaddedyearafter
year,t
henitr
atei
onsareabsor bedbycr opsandsodium i
ons
accumulateandaf
fectt
hest r
uctureofthesoil
.Sodi
um ni
tr
at e
i
salsoknownaschi l
esaltpeterorchi
leannit
rat
e.
5. Sodi
um ni
tr
atei
spar
ti
cul
arl
yusef
ulf
oraci
dicsoi
l
s

b)Cal
cium Ni
tr
ate[
Ca(
NO3)
2]

1. Iti
sawhi tecr
yst
all
i
nehygr
oscopi
csoli
dsolubl
einwater
contai
ning15.
5percentni
tr
ogenand19.5percentcal
ci
um.
2. Thecal
cium i
susef
ulf
ormai
ntai
ningadesi
rabl
esoi
lpH.

c)Pot
assium Ni
tr
ate(KNO3)
1. Thepuri
fi
edsal
tcontai
ns13.
0percentni
tr
ogenand36.
4per
centpot
assi
um.

83
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

2. Thenit
rogenoft
hepotassi
um ni
tr
atehast
hesamepr
oper
ti
es
andval
ueasthatoft
hesodium ni
tr
ate.

3.Ammoni acalandnitr
atefert
il
izers
These f
erti
li
zer
s contai
n ni
trogen i
n both ammoni
um and
ni
trat
eforms.Theni t
rat
esareusef ulf
orrapi
duti
liz
ati
onbycr
ops
andtheammoni cali
sgradual
lyavai
labl
e.

a)Ammoni
um Ni
tr
ate(
NH4NO3)
1. Itis whit
e,wat
ersolubl
e and hygroscopi
c cry
stal
li
ne sal
t
contai
ning35percentni
trogenhalfasni t
rat
enitr
ogenand
hal
fintheammonium f
orm.
2. Int
heammoni
um f
orm,
itcannotbeeasi
l
yleachedf
rom t
he
soi
l
.
3. Thisfer
ti
li
zeri
squi
ck-
act
ing,
buthi
ghl
yhy
groscopi
candnot
fi
tforst
orage.
4. I
thasanaci
dul
ati
ngef
fectont
hesoi
l
.
5. I
tisdanger
ousi
npur
efor
m becauseofexpl
osi
onhazar
d.

b)Cal
cium Ammoni
um Ni
tr
ate(
CAN)
1. Cal
cium ammonium nitr
atei
saf i
nef
ree-
fl
owing,l
i
ghtbrown
orgr
eygr anul
arf
ert
il
izer,
cont
aini
ng26percentofni
tr
ogen.
2. Iti
salmostneut
ral
andcanbesaf
elyappl
i
edev
ent
oaci
d
soi
ls.
3. Hal
fofi
tstot
alni
tr
ogeni
sint
heammoni
acal
for
m andhal
fis
i
nnit
rat
eform.
4. I
tismadehar
mlessbyaddi
ngl
i
me.

c)Ammoni um sul
phatenit
rat
e[(NH4)2SO4NH4NO3]
1. Itcont
ains26percentni
tr
ogen,t
hreefour
thsofiti
nthe
ammoni acalf
orm andt
herest(
6.5percent)asni
tr
ate
nitr
ogen.
2. I
naddi
ti
ont
oni
tr
ogeni
tcont
ains12.
1per
centsul
phur
.
3. I
tisami
xtur
eofammoni
um ni
tr
ateandammoni
um sul
phat
e.

84
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

4. I
tisav
ail
abl
einawhi
tecr
yst
all
i
nef
orm orasdi
rt
y-whi
tegr
anul
es.
5. I
tisr
eadi
l
ysol
ubl
einwat
erandi
sver
yqui
ck-
act
ing.
6. I
tskeepi
ngqual
i
tyi
sgoodandi
tisusef
ulf
oral
lcr
ops.
7. It
saci
deffectont hesoi
l
sisonl
yone-
hal
foft
hatof
ammonium sulphate.
8. I
tcanbeappl
i
edbef
oresowi
ng,
atsowi
ngt
imeorasat
op-
dr
essi
ng.

4.Amidefer
ti
li
zers
1. Amidefer
ti
li
zer
sarer
eadi
lysol
ubl
einwat
erandeasi
l
y
decomposabl
eint
hesoi
l.
2. Theamidefor
m ofni
tr
ogeniseasi
lychangedt
oammoni
acal
andthent
onitr
atef
orminthesoil
.

a)Ur
ea[ CO( NH2)
2]

1. Iti
sthemostconcentrat
edsolidni
tr
ogenousf
ert
il
izer
,
contai
ning46percentni
trogen.
2. I
tisawhi
tecr
yst
all
i
nesubst
ancer
eadi
l
ysol
ubl
einwat
er.
3. Itabsor
bsmoi stur
ef r
om t
heatmosphereandhastobekept
i
n moi stur
e proofcontai
ner
s.Iti sr eadi
l
y conv
ert
ed to
ammoni acalandni
trat
efor
msinthesoil
.
4. Theni
tr
ogeninureai
sreadi
lyfixedi
nthesoili
nan
ammoniacal
for
m andisnotlostindr
ainage.
5. Ur
easpr
aysar
ereadi
l
yabsor
bedbypl
ant
s.
6. I
tmaybeappl
i
edatsowi
ngoras,
atop-
dressi
ng.
7. I
tissui
tabl
eformostcr
opsandcanbeappl
i
edt
oal
lsoi
l
s.

b)Cal
cium Cy
anami
de(
CaCN2)
1. Cal
cium cy
anami
deorni
tr
oli
mecont
ains20.
6percentof
ni
tr
ogen.
2. I
tisagrey
ishwhi
tepowder
ymat
eri
alt
hatdecomposedi
n
moist

85
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

soi
lgi
vi
ngr
iset
oammoni
a.

B.Phosphat
icf
ert
il
izer
s
Fer
ti
li
zerName P2O5%
Si
nglesuperphosphate 17-
20
Concentr
atedsuperphosphat
e 18-
46
Tri
plesuperphosphat
e 42-
52
Rockphosphate 25-
40

1. Phosphat
icfert
il
izer
sar echemicalsubstancesthatcontai
n
the nut
ri
entphosphor us i
n absorbablef orm (Phosphat
e
ani
ons)orthatyi
eldaft
erconver
sioninthesoil
.

a.Superphosphat
e(Ca(
H2PO4)
2)

1. Thi
sist
hemosti
mpor
tantphosphat
icf
ert
il
izeri
nuse.
2. I
tcont
ains16PercentP2O5i
nav
ail
abl
efor
m.
3. I
tisagr
eyashl
i
kepowderwi
thgoodkeepi
ngorst
oragequal
i
ties.
4. Phosphat
icfer
til
i
zerhardlymov
esi
nthesoi
landhencet
hey
ar
eplacedinthe,rootzone.

b.Tr
ipl
esuperphosphat
e:
1. Theconcent
rat
edsuperphosphat
eiscall
edasTr
ipl
esuper
phosphat
eanditcont
ains46percentP2O5.
2. Thi
sfer
ti
li
zeri
ssui
tabl
eforal
lcr
opsandal
lsoi
l
s.
3. I
nacidsoil
s,i
tshoul
dbeusedi
nconj
unct
ionwi
thor
gani
c
manure.
4. I
tcanbeappl
i
edbef
oreoratsowi
ngort
ranspl
ant
ing.

B.Pot
assi
um f
ert
il
izer
s
Fert
il
izerName K2O%
Pot
assi
um chl
oride 48-
52

86
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Pot
assi
um sul
phat
e 50
Pot
assi
um ni
tr
ate 38-
42
Pot
assi
um phosphat
e 45
Pot
assi
um magnesi
um sul
phat
e 48-
52

1. Pot
assi
cfer
ti
li
zer
sar echemi
cal
subst
ancescont
aini
ng
pot
assi
um i
nabsorbedform(
K+)
.
2. Ther
earetwopotassi
um fer
ti
li
zersviz.
,muri
ateofpotash
(KCI
)andsul
phateofpotash(K2SO4).
3. Theyar
ewatersolubl
eandsoar ereadil
yav
ail
abletoplant
s.

a)Potassium Chl oride(KCI)

1. Pot assi
um chl ori
deormur i
ateofpot
ashisawhiteorred,
crystalcontaining60.0percentK2O.
2. Itiscompl etelysolubl
einwaterandther
efor
ereadi
lyavai
l
abl
e
tot hecrops.
3. Iti
snotlostf
rom t
hesoi
l
,asi
tisabsor
bedont
hecol
l
oidal
surf
aces.
4. I
tcanbeappl
i
edatsowi
ngorbef
oreoraf
tersowi
ng.
5. Thechl
ori
necont
enti
sabout47.
0percent
.
6. I
tschl
ori
necontentisobj
ect
ionabl
etosomecropslike
t
obacco,
potat
o, et
cwherequali
tyi
stheconsi
derat
ion.

b)Potassium Sul phate( K2SO4)

1. Pot assi
um sul phateorsulphateofpot ashisawhi tesaltand
cont ai
ns48percentK2O.
2. Itissolubleinwat erandt her
eforer eadi
lyavai
labletothecrop.
3. Itdoesnotpr oduceanyaci di
tyoral kali
nit
yinthesoil.
4. Itispreferr
edf orferti
li
zati
onofcr opsl i
ketobacco,potatoetc.
,
wher equalit
yi sofpr i
mei mportance.
5. Itiscostlybecausei tismadebyt reati
ngpotassium chlori
de
withmagnesi um sul phate.

87
 Chapt
er12

NFert i
li
zer
s-Urea,Ammonium
Sulphate,Ammoni um Ni
tr
ate,
CAN,
Properti
esandt hei
rReacti
onsinSoi
l

Urea
Urea,alsoknownascar bamide,isanor gani ccompoundwi th
thechemi calfor mulaCO( NH2)2.Thisami dehast wo–NH2gr oups
j
oined by a car bonyl( C=O)f unctionalgr oup.Ur ea ser ves an
i
mpor tant r ole i n t he met aboli
sm of ni t
r ogen-containing
compounds by ani mal s and i st he mai n ni t
r ogen-containing
substancei nt heur ineofmammal s.Itisacol our l
ess,odour less
soli
d,hi ghlysol ublei nwat er
,andpr acticall
ynon- toxic(LD50i s15
g/kgf orr ats).Di ssolvedi nwater,itisnei theraci dicnoral kali
ne.
The body uses i ti n many pr ocesses,mostnot abl
y ni tr
ogen
excretion.Thel i
v erformsi tbycombi ningt woammoni amol ecul es
(NH3)wi t
hacar bondi oxide(CO2)mol ecul eint heur eacycle.Ur ea
i
swi delyusedi nfer t
il
izersasasour ceofni t
rogenandi san
i
mpor tantr aw mat eri
alf ort he chemi cali ndust ry.The most
commoni mpur i
t yofsy ntheticureai sbiuret ,whi chi mpairspl ant
growt h.

88
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

1.Ur ea[Carbami
de(NH2CONH2) ]
Urea orcar
bamide as i
tis sometimes cal
led "
non-
ioni
c"
ni
trogencompound used asaf erti
li
zerforcropsand also as
proteinsuppl
ementi
nthefeedofr
umi nant
s(far
m animal
s).

isthemosti
mportantN-Fert
il
iz
erconsti
tut
ingnear
ly91per
centoft
hetot
alpr
oduct
ionofnitr
ogeninI
ndia.

Themajorr
easonf
ori
tsr
api
dgr
owt
hisi
tsv
eryhi
ghnut
ri
ent
cont
ent(46%N).

Rawmat
eri
als:1)Ammoni
aand2.Car
bondi
oxi
de

F.Wholer(Germanchemi st
),fir
stpr eparedur eaint heyear
1828[ Commer ci
alproduct
ionst
artedin1922]byi somerizai
tonof
ammoni a cyanate.Sincethen numerouspr ocesseshav ebeen
devel
opedf orthesynthesi
sofurea.Allcommer ci
alprocessesare
basedont hedehy drati
onofammoni acar bamate. Thechemi cal
react
ionisfoll
ows.

Manuf acturingpr ocess

Liqui d ammoni a and car bon di oxide gas ar e pumped
continuouslyi nt oreact ormai ntainedatt emper at
ureranging180-
2000Candpr essurer anging2500t o3500Psi .Ther eact
ioni s
exother mic.Ther eact i
onpr oduct,isami xtureofurea,ammoni a,
carbon di oxide,ammoni um car bamat eand wat er
.Themi xture
thenf l
owsi nt oacar bamat estrippers,
wher el i
qui
dphaseofur ea,
water cont aining smal lquant it
ies of ammoni um car bamat e
,ammoni aandgaseousphaseofammoni a,car
bondi oxi
deand
waterv apourar esepar ated.Theaqueousur easoluti
oncont ains
around70- 80percentur ea.Itmaybeuseddi rectl
yinv ari
ous
nit
rogensol utions, butmustbeconcent ratedt opr
oducesol i
dur ea
.

89
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Biuret:
When concent rat
ed urea sol
uti
on is exposed to elev
ated
temper at
ur esi.
e.,gr
eatert
han1000Cdur i
ngev aporat
ioninpril
li
ng
processbi ureti
sf or
medbymi xi
ngoft woureamol ecules,
whichis
toxi
ct oplants.Atat emper
atur
eofabov e1000C

Theureasoluti
onconcentrat
edt
o99.70to99.80percenti
na
vacuum evaporat
ionandisfinall
ydr
iedbyspray
ingintoat ower
whereiti
ssolidi
fi
esinthef
orm ofpri
l
ls(or
)gr
anules.

Fl
owdi agr
am
Physi
calproperti
es:
yWhi teorgani
ccompoundwi
thl
owbul
kdensi
tyi
.e.
,0.
7
kg/
Ly
Iti
sasol
i
dfer
ti
li
zerusual
l
ygr
anul
atedt
o(1t
o2
mm)
y
Hav
ingspeci
fi
cgr
avi
tyof1.
335

90
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Chemicalproperti
es:
ySy ntheti
cprotei
n,or
gani
ccompound,ri
chestsour
ceofN(
46%)
inami defor
m amongsoli
dNfert
il
izer
s
y
Sol
ubl
einwat
erandsol
ubi
l
ityi
s100g/
100gofwat
erat
200Cy
Bi
uretcont
enti
sabout1.
5percentbywei
ght
yI
tisi
dent
ical
tour
eaf
oundi
nani
mal
uri
ne.
Whathappenswhenur
eai
sappl
iedt
osoi
l
?
Conversion ofurea i
nto ammoniacaland nit
ratefor
m is
completeinaboutaweek.Assuchiti
sadvisabl
etoapplyur
eathr
ee
tofourday sbeforesowingofanyfi
eldcrop.Lossofnitr
ogenby
l
eachingisless.

Ureaisl essaci diccompar edtoammoni asul phate.

Since
appl
icati
onof100kgur eal eavesacidit
y,whichrequires80kgof
CaCO3t oneutral
izeit.Pl
antsar ecapableofabsor bi
ngmostoft he
nutr
ientsthrough t hei
rl eaves.Being v ery sol
uble and hi
ghly
concentr
atedur eai smostsui tabl
ef er
til
izerforsprayingi
nt he
for
m ofweaksol ution(3to6%) .

Urea is easil
y hy drol
y ses t o ammoni a soon af t
er its
appli
cation t
ot he soilint he pr esence ofur ease enzyme by
microorgani
smsandi sconv ertedt oammoni um carbonateand
thenbymi crobi
aloxidati
onint oammoni um andni t
rateandt hese
formsar eabsorbedbypl ant.Someoft heammoni aandni tr
ate
formedislostduetoleaching, volati
l
izati
onanddeni tr
ifi
cati
onand
theselossesareresponsiblef ort helow recoveryofureabyr i
ce
whichisgeneral
ly40-50percentorev enless.

Urea bei ng convert

ed int o ammoni um carbonat
e,t he
f
oll
owi ngreactionoccuri
nt hesoi
l
.Calci
um carbonat
eisinsol
uble
i
nwat erandt heref
oreit
slossismini
mum.

91
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

I
mpot
enceofNi
tr
ogenousFer
ti
li
zer
Ureawasfi
rstpr
oducedi
nIndi
aatSi
ndhr
i(Bi
har
)duri
ng1959-60.
Atpr
esentur
eaisproduci
ngnearl
y50di
ffer
entl
ocati
onsinI
ndia.

1. Hi
ghni
tr
ogencont
ent44t
o46percent
2. Goodphy
sical
condi
ti
on
3. Lesscostperuni
tofni
tr
ogeni
npr
oduct
ion,
stor
ageand
tr
ansport
ati
on
4. Lessaci
dicr
esi
dual
eff
ectascompar
edt
oammoni
um
sul
phate
5. Sui
tabl
eforf
oli
arappl
i
cat
ion
6. Lackofcor
rosi
veness
7. Agr
onomi
cval
ueequal
toot
herni
tr
ogenousf
ert
il
izer
s
8. Thebi
uretcont
entexceeds1.
5%,
iti
stox
ict
opl
ant
s.

Classifi
cat
ionofmi
neralni
tr
ogen
fert
il
izersI
I.Ammoni
um Sulphat
e
[
(NH4)
2SO4]
I
ti st he oldest sy
nthet
icf er
ti
li
zer
. The product
ion of
Ammoni um sul
phateisrel
atedl
argel
ytotheproduct
ionofsteel
,a
cokeconsumingprocess.

Manuf
actur
ingpr ocess
I
.Bypr
oductProcess

I
I.Gy
psum pr
ocess

I
II
.Neut
ral
i
zat
ionpr
ocess

I.Bypr oductprocess:[
Rawmat eri
alsCoalandSulphur
icaci
d]
I
ni ron and steelproduct
ion when bit
uminous coalis
subjectedtodest r
ucti
vedi
sti
ll
ati
oni.e.
,heat
ingcoalto18000F
(982.20C)i
n

92
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

theabsenceofai r,cokei sobt ainedwhi chisusedf ori r

onand
steeli ndustr
y.Dur ingthi
spr ocesscokeov engasi sevolvedwhi ch
cont ains10per centammoni abyv olume,besidestheadmi xtures
l
ike CO,H2 CH4,wat erv apourf inelydivi
ded tarpar t
icl
es and
hy drocarbonset c.,Onet onneofcoalbur ntyieldsabout2-3kgof
ammoni a.Thi
scokeov engasi scooledandbubbl edthroughwat er,
whenl iquorammoni aisf ormed, whichisdisti
ll
edandpassedi nto
sat urators cont aining weak H2SO4. Ammoni um sul phate
[(NH4) 2SO4]crystalsar ef or
medi nt hesaturatorsarer emov ed
cent ri
fuged,washedanddr ained.

Neutr
ali
zationpr ocess:(Rawmat er
ial
sNH3andH2SO4)
I
nt hi
spr ocess,gaseousammoni apr oducedi nHaberand
Bosch process is dir
ectly neutr
ali
zed with sulphur
ic acidto
pr
oduceammoni um sulphate.Thechemical
r eact
ionisexother
mic.

Neutr
ali
zati
onofammoni abysul phuricaci
dt akespl acei
n
r
eactorandtheresultantslurr
yi stransf
erredtocrystal
li
zer,wher
e
t
heheatofneut rali
zati
onisadv antageouslyuti
li
zedt oevaporat
e
t
hewat eri
nt heslurr
y.Ammoni um sulphatecryst
alsaretakenout
f
rom thebott
om oft hereactorandcent ri
fuged.Thecr y
stalgrowt
h
i
sregulat
edbyairf l
ow,ti
meandt emperature.

Gy psum pr ocessorl eunapr ocess:[ Raw mat eri

als:NH3,CO2
andGy psum)
I
nt hisprocessanhy dr
ousammoni aisabsorbedi nwaterina
tankandCO2i spumpedat5at mospher es.Theresulti
ngAmmoni a
carbonat ei smadet or eactwithGy psum ( Cal
cium dihy dar
ate;
CaSO4 2H2O)suspended wi th wateron doubl e decompositi
on
reacti
on,ammoni asul phateandcal cium carbonatearef ormed
.The cal cium car bonate bei
ng insoluble,preci
pitat
ed out,the
ammoni um sul phatesol ut
ionisfil
teredout ,andcr yst
all
i
zedby
evaporation.

93
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

React
ions:

Adv
ant ageoft hi
sprocessov erotherprocesses
1. Incount r
ieswheresulphursuppliesaremeagerandnatural
resourcesofgypsum arepresentammoni um sul
phat
ecanbe
producedwi t
houtpurchasi
ngsulphurfrom abr
oad.
2. Theby-pr
oductCaCO3coul
dbeuti
li
zedf
ort
hemanuf
act
ure
of
Cal
cium Ammonium Ni
trat
e(CAN)

Phy
sicalproperti
es:
1. Iti
swhi tecrystal
l
inesalt,
butcommer cialproducthasl
ight
yell
owt ogreycolourwi t
hfreeflowingchar acter.
2. Thiocyanateswhenpr esentaret oxi
ct oplants.
3. Nopr oblem i
nhandl i
ngandst orage,ifitcontainssome
powder edmat eri
al,
itcakes(storedinpol yt
henebags)
m3
4. Bul
kdensi
tyof(
NH4)
2SO4i
s876.
60kg/

94
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Chemicalproper
ties
1. Ammoni um sulphatefer
ti
li
zercont
ains20.6percentNand
23.45percentsulphur(I
tisanacidproducingfert
il
izer
)
2. Solubl
einwat eratordinar
ytemperatures.Solubi
li
tyat00Ci
s
70.60g/
100gr amsofwat erandat100° Ci s103. 80gr
ams
/100gramsofwat er
.

Ithasfr
eeaci
dity(
pH=5.
0)of0.025percentbyweight
.One
kgofNappli
edasAmmonium sul
phat
efer
ti
li
zerrequi
red5.
1kgof
l
imeforneut
ral
i
zat
ion.

3.Ammoni
um Ni
tr
ate
Ammoni um ni
trat
ei sachemi calcompound,t heni tratesaltof
theammoni um cati
on.Ithast hechemi calformulaNH4NO3, si
mpl i
fied
toN2H4O3.I tisawhitecr ystalsoli
dandi shighlysolubleinwat er.Itis
predomi nantl
yusedi nagricultur
easahi gh-nit
rogenf ert
ili
zer.It
sot her
majorusei sasacomponentofexpl osivemi xturesusedi nmi ning,
quarryi
ng, andcivi
lconstruction.Iti
st hemaj orconst i
tuentofANFO, a
populari ndustr
ialexplosivewhi chaccount sf or80% ofexpl osi
v es
used in Nor th Amer i
ca;si mi l
arf ormulations hav e been used i n
i
mpr ovisedexplosivedev i
ces.Manycount r
iesar ephasi ngouti tsuse
i
n consumerappl i
cati
ons due t o concer ns ov erits pot enti
alf or
misuse.

Ammoni um ni tr
ateisani mportantf er
ti
li
zerwi tht heNPK
rat
ing34-0-0(34%ni t
rogen).Iti
slessconcentrat
edt hanurea( 46-
0
-0)
,givi
ngammoni um nit
rateasl i
ghttransport
ati
ondi sadv ant
age.
Ammoni um nitr
ate'sadvantageov erureaisthatitismor est abl
e
anddoesnotr apidl
ylosenitrogentotheat mosphere.Duringwar m
weatheritisbesttoappl yureasoonbef orerainisexpect edorto
coveri
twi t
hsoiltomi ni
mizeni t
rogenloss.

Producti
on
Theindustri
alproduct
ionofammoni um ni
tr
ateent
ail
sthe
aci
d-basereact
ionofammoni awi
thni
tr
icacid:

95
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

HNO3+NH3→ NH4NO3

Ammoni aisusedi ni t
sanhy drousfor m( i.e.
,gasf orm)and
theni t
ri
cacidisconcent rated.Thi sreacti
oni sviolentowingt oits
highlyexother
mi cnat ur
e.Af tert hesolut
ioni sf ormed,t y
picall
yat
about83% concent rati
on,theexcesswat eri sev aporat
edt oan
ammoni um ni
trate( AN)cont entof95% t o99. 9% concentration
(AN mel t)
,dependi ngongr ade.TheAmmoni um Ni tr
atemel tis
thenmadei nto" pril
l
s"orsmal lbeadsi naspr ayt ower,ori nto
granulesbyspray i
ngandt umbl inginar otat i
ngdr um.Thepr ill
sor
granulesmaybef urt
herdr i
ed,cool ed,andt hencoat edtopr event
caking.Thesepr i
llsorgr anulesar ethetypi calAmmoni um Ni t
rate
productsincommer ce.

Theammoni arequi
redfort
hisprocessisobtai
nedbyt he
Haberprocessfrom ni
tr
ogenandhydr
ogen.Ammoniaproducedby
t
heHaberpr ocessisoxi
dizedt
oni
tr
icaci
dbyt heOst
waldprocess.

Oddapr
ocess
Ca(
NO3)
2+2NH3+CO2+H2O→ 2NH4NO3+CaCO3

Thepr
oducts,cal
ci
um carbonat
eandammoni um ni
tr
ate,may
beseparat
elypuri
fiedorsoldcombi nedascal
cium ammoni um
ni
tr
ate.

Ammoni
um ni
tr
atecanal
sobemadev
iamet
athesi
sreact
ions:

(
NH4)
2SO4+Ba(
NO3)
2→ 2NH4NO3+

BaSO4NH4Cl
+AgNO3→ NH4NO3+
AgCl
Reacti
ons
Ammoni
um nitr
ater eact
swi thmet alhy
drox
ides,r
eleasi
ng
ammoniaandfor
mingalkalimetal
nitr
ate:

NH4NO3+MOH→ NH3+H2O+MNO3(
M =Na,
K)
96
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Ammoni
um ni
tr
atel
eav
esnor
esi
duewhenheat
ed:
NH4NO3→ N2O+2H2O

Ammoni
um ni
tr
atei
s al
so f
ormed i
nthe at
mospher
efr
om
emi
ssi
onsofNO,SO2,andNH3,andi
sasecondar
ycomponentof
PM10
4.Calci
um Ammoni um Nitr
ate
Calcium ammoni um ni
trat
e orCAN,also known as ni
tr
o-
l
imestone,isawi del
yusedi nor
gani
cfer
ti
li
zer,account
ingf
or4%
ofal
lnit
r ogenfer
ti
li
zerusedworldwi
dei
n2007.

Product ion
Thet er
m" calcium ammoni um nitr
ate"isappliedt omul t
ipl
e
di
fferent,butcloselyrelat
edf ormulat
ions.Onev arietyofcal ci
um
ammoni um nitrateis made byaddi ng powdered l i
mest one to
ammoni um nit
rateanother,f
ullywater
-solubl
ev er
sion, i
sami xt
ure
ofcalcium nitr
at eandammoni um nit
rate,whichcr ystal
li
zesasa
hydrateddoublesal t5Ca(NO3)2•NH4NO3•10H2O.
Mostcal cium ammoni um nit
rat
ei s used as a chemi cal
fert
il
iz
er.Fert
il
iz
ergr adeCANcontai
nsroughly8%cal ci
um and21-
27%ni t
rogen.CANi sprefer
redf
oruseonaci dsoil
s,asi taci
dif
ies
soill
essthanmanycommonni t
rogenfer
til
i
zers.Itisalsousedi n
placeofammoni um ni
tr
atewher
eammoni um nit
rateisbanned.

Cal
cium ammoni um nit
rat
ei s used in some inst
antcold
packsasanal t
ernat
ivetoammonium nitr
ate.Calci
um ammoni um
ni
trat
ehasseenusei nimprov
isedexplosives.TheCAN i snot
useddir
ectl
y,butisi
nsteadf
ir
stconvert
edtoammoni um ni
tr
ate.

97
 Chapt
er13

Manuf
act
ureofUr
eaandAmmoni
um Sul
phat
e

Manuf
act
uri
ngpr
ocessofur
ea
Ammoni
um car
bamat
esepar
ated
pr
ocess
1.Once-
thr
oughpr
ocess

2.Tot
alr
ecy
clepr
ocess

3.Par
ti
alr
ecy
clepr
ocess

1.Oncet
hroughpr
ocess
Int his process li
quid NH3 i s pumped t hrough a high
pressurepl ungerpumpandgaseousCO2i scompr essedt hrougha
compr essorupt otheureasynt hesi
sreactorpressureatanNH3t o
CO2f eedmol erati
oof2/ 1or3/ 1.Thereactorusuallyoper at
esina
temper atur
er angef rom 175t o190° C.Ther eactoref f
luentislet
downi npr essuret oabout2at m andthecar bamatedecomposed
andst rippedf rom theur ea-
pr oductsoluti
oni nast eam heated
shellandt ubeheatexchanger .Themoi stgas,separatedf rom t
he
85-90% ur eapr oductsoluti
onandcont aini
ngabout0. 6tonsof
gaseous NH3 pert on ofur ea produced is usuall
ysentt o an
adjacentammoni um nit
rateorammoni um sulphate

98
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

produci
ngplantf
orrecover
y.Anav er
ageconversi
onofcar
bamate
toureaofabout60%i satt
ained.Excessheatisremovedf
rom t
he
react
orbymeansofal ow-pressuresteam-pr
oduci
ngcoili
nan
amountofabout280,000cal/Kgureaproduced.

2.Tot
alr
ecy
clepr
ocess
Inthi
spr ocess,t
heoffgases(NH3andCO2)anduncharged
ammonium carbamat ear
etotall
yreusedf
orf
urt
hertoform ur
ea.
Her
e,ammoi um carbamateisreusedbytwowaysasfoll
ows:

Af
ter separati
on f r
om ur ea sol
uti
on, t
he ammonium
car
bamateassuchi sretur
nedtoget
herwit
htheoffgases(
NH3
andCO2)tothereactorwhereur
eaisf
ormed.

Af
ter separ
ati
on from urea sol
uti
on, t
he ammoni um
car
bamateisdecomposedtof
orm ammoni
aandcarbondi
oxi
de

TheseammoniaandCO2 toget
herwit
htheoffgases(
NH3
+CO2)areret
urnedt
other
eact
orwhereur
eaidf
ormed.

Theconv
ersi
onofammoni
aandCO2t
our
eaappr
oaches
100%
3.Par
ti
alr
ecy
clepr
ocess
Inthisprocessusual l
yammoni aoft heof fgasesi sr eturnedt o
thereactorforit
sf urt
herreact i
ontof orm ur ea.Car bondi oxi
de,t he
otheroffgas,isnotsi mil
arl
yr eusedforpr oduct ionofur ea.I nsome
plant
s,theunchagedammoni um carbamat e,af teritsseper ati
onf rom
ureasoluti
on,i
sr et
urnedtot hereactorforitsf urtherreactiont oform
urea.Inprocesswher eonlyammoni ai sr eusedt heconv ersionof
ammoni atour eaincreasesf r
om 32% i nonce- throughpr ocessupt o
about56%.

Inprocesswher eammoniaandammoni um carbamateare

reusedtheconv er
sionofammoniai ncreasesfurt
heruptoabout
80%.Her e,t
heconv er
sionofCO2 t
our eai ncr
easesfrom 75% i
n
once-t
hroughprocessupto95%.

99
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Biuret
When concent rat
ed urea sol
uti
on is exposed to elev
ated
temper at
ur esi.
e.,gr
eatert
han1000Cdur i
ngev aporat
ioninpril
li
ng
processbi ureti
sf or
medbymi xi
ngoft woureamol ecules,
whichis
toxi
ct oplants.Atat emper
atur
eofabov e1000C

Ur
easoli
dif
icat
ion
1. Cr
ystal
l
izat
ion

2. Pr
il
li
ng

1.Cryst alli
zation
The ur ea solut
ion obt ai
ned fr
om t he product i
on pl anti s
concentr atedandf il
teredt or emovethesol i
dimpur i
tiesf oll
owed
by further concent ration t of orm crystal
s.The cr y
st als are
separatedf rom mot herl iquorbycent r
ifugalforce.Themot her
l
iquorisr eturnedtothef i
rstconcentr
atorforfur
thercr ystalli
zati
on.
Thecr yst al
sar edri
edt or educet hemoisturecontentt ol esst han
0.3%byast r
eam ofhotai randthenpackedi nmoist urepr oofbags.
Somet imes,t he crystals ar e coat
ed wi th moi sturer epell
ent
materialsuchascl ay.

2.Pril
li
ng
Thedr ycr
ystal
saremol t
edinast eam heat
edmel t
erfit
tedat
thetopofthepril
l
ingtower.Themol tenur
eaissprayeddownwar d
i
nsidethetowertoform pri
ll
s.Airiscir
cul
atedupwardthroughthe
towertocoolthepr i
ll
s.Thepril
lsareaccumulatedatthebaseof
thetower.Thepri
ll
sarecoll
ected,scr
eenedandbagged.

Manuf
acturi
ngprocessofammoni um sul
phat
e
1. Methodthati
nvol
vesthereacti
onofsul
phur
ingaci
dwi
th
ei
ther
sy
ntheti
c ammoniaorbyproductammoni
a.

2. Methodthati
nvol
vest
hereact
ionofgy
psum wi
thei
ther
sy
ntheti
cammoniaorbyproductammoni
ainpr
esenceof
CO2.

100
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Met hodI
Indest ructi
vedi sti
ll
ati
onofcoalsomev olat
il
esubst ances
suchasf i
nelydiv i
dedt arammoni aandot hergasesar eformed.
Ammoni amayber ecover
edbycool i
ngandbubbl i
ngi tthrough
wat er.Thust heammoni aisabsorbedbywat ert
of orm ammoni a
l
iquor .Theammoni al i
quorisdist
il
ledwithslakedlimet osetf ree
theammoni af r
om ammoni um carbonate.Theammoni aisdr iven
offbyf l
owofst eam.Themi xtureofammoni aandst eam issent
i
ntor eactorcontainingsulphuricacid.Hereammoni areactswi th
sulphur i
caci dtoy ieldammoni um sulphate.Ammoni um sul phate
i
st hencol l
ected.Someamountoft hefr
eeammoni awat er.Then
thef erti
l
izerisdried.

Met hodI I
Ammoni a-
waterispassedi ntoatankcont ai
ningpowder ed
gypsum suspendedi nwater.Att hesamet i
meCO2i spassedinto
the suspension under5 at mospher i
c pressure.The cal ci
um
carbonate preci
pit
ateis separ ated f
rom ammoni um sulphate
soluti
onbyf i
ltr
ati
on.Thereaft
er,thefi
lt
ratecontai
ningammoni um
sulphatesoluti
oni sevaporatedt oform cryst
alsofammoni um
sulphate.Si
nce,gypsum i
susedt hismethodisknownasgy psum
process.

101
 Chapt
er14

Pferti
li
zer–Rockphosphate,Bonemeal ,
Basic
slag,Si
nglesuperphosphate,Di
ammoni um
phosphate,Tri
plesuperphosphat
e,propert
ies
andthei
rreacti
onsinsoil

Pl antsabsor bmostoft heirphosphorusf r

om thesoi lsolution
asor thophosphat e( H2PO4- ),regardl
essoft heor i
ginalsourceof
phosphor us.Al t
houghor thophosphat e’
snegat ivechar geprev ents
i
tfrom bei ngat t
ractedbyt hesoi l
’
scationex changecapaci t
y( CEC),
i
tdoesr eactstronglyi nthesoi l,pri
marilywiththelargeamountof
i
ronandal uminium nat urall
yint hesoil,toform product sthatar e
ver
yi nsoluble and t hus unav ai
labl
et o plants.A maj orf actor
controlli
ngt heser eactionsi st hesoilpH.Atl ow orhi ghpH,t he
sol
ubi l
ityofphosphor us( andt husi t
sav ail
abil
ity
)isv erylow.The
maximum av ai
labil
ityoccur si nt he6.0t o7. 0pH r ange.Thi si s
anotheri mpor t
antreasont olimer egul
arly.

The solubi
li
ty ofphosphorus infert
ili
zervari
es.The legal
defi
nit
ion ofavai
labl
e phosphor
us infert
il
izeristhe sum ofthe
phosphorusthatissolubl
einwat erpl
usthatwhichissolubl
ei na
ci
trat
esoluti
on.

102
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Regardlessoft heact ualchemi calform oft hephosphor us,the

analysesofphosphor usf er
til
i
zersar egivenasphosphat e( P2O5)
.
Thewat ersolubil
i
tyoft hisphosphor uscanv aryfrom 0t o100
percent.Gener all
y,the hi ghert he wat ersol ubi
li
ty,the mor e
eff
ect i
vet hephosphor ussour ce.Thisi sespeciall
yimpor tantfor
short-
season,f ast-
growi ngcr ops,forcr opswi threstr
ictedr oot
systems,f orstar
terf erti
li
zers,and f orareas wher eless- t
han-
optimum r atesofphosphor usar eappl i
edtosoi l
st est
ingl ow in
phosphor us.

The most common phosphat e f erti

lizers ar e t r i
ple
super phosphate( 0–46–0) ,monoammoni um phosphat e( 11–52–0) ,
diammoni um phosphat e( 18–46–0) ,andammoni um pol y
phosphat e
(10–34–0)l i
quid.Alloft hesemat eri
alsar ehighl
ywat ersol uble.The
ammoni um phosphat es al so ar e excel lent ni t r
ogen sour ces.
Monoammoni um phosphat eand ammoni um pol yphosphat e,ei ther
aloneorwi t
hsomeaddedpot assium, makeexcel lentst arterf ertil
i
zer s
becauseoft heirhighP- to-Nr ati
os,highwat ersolubi l
i
ty,andl owf ree
ammoni a.Diammoni um phosphat e( DAP)i snotr ecommendedasa
startermat eri
albecausei tpr oducesf reeammoni a,whi chcanhar m
theseed.Manyst arterf erti
l
izers,howev er,cont ainDAP;t husi ti s
crit
ical,whent hatist hecase,t hatthest art
erisaccur atel
ypl aceda
safedi stance(about2i nches)f rom theseed,andt hathi ghr at esar e
avoided.BecauseP i sr elat
ivelyimmobi le,placementwher epl ant
rootswi l
lhav eeasyaccesst ot heferti
l
izerisespeci al
lyimpor tantf or
Pf erti
li
zers.

Organi cPhosphor usSources

Or gani
cPf er
til
i
zershavebeenusedf orcenturiesast heP
sourcef orcrops.Evenwi t
ht headventofPf ert
il
izert echnology
processes,or gani
c P sources from animalmanur es i ncl
uding
compost sand sewagesl udgear estil
lveryimportant .From a
fert
il
izer and nut ri
ent management per spect
ive, t he maj or
dif
ferenti
atingfactoristheav ai
labi
li
tyofP.Aswi thanyoft he
fert
il
izerproducts,
especial
lythosewithvary
inganalysis,chemi cal
analysisshouldbedoneont hese

103
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

product
s.Then an avai
l
abi
l
ity coef
fi
cientshould be used t
o
deter
minet
heavail
abl
ePasapor ti
onoftherepor
tedtot
alP.

Phosphor usfrom manur eorsludgeshoul dbecompar abl

eto
Pf rom i norgani
cf ert
il
izer.Ther
ef ore,ifa pr oducerhas a P
recommendat i
onfor30l bs/AofP2O5,appl y
ingappr oxi
matel
y65
l
bsof18- 46-0(DAP)or6t onsof11- 6-9(manure,80%av ai
l
ableP
coeffi
cient)shoul
dpr ov
ideequival
entr esul
ts.

The P cont ai
ned in organic P sources is a combi nat
ion of
i
nor ganicandor ganicP.Essent ial
ly,al
loft heinorganicPi si nt he
orthophosphat ef orm,whichist hef or
mt akenupbygr owingpl ant s.
Dietf edt otheani malhassomecont r
olont hischemi calmake- up.
Consi derPf eedsuppl ementsandt hefactthatmanyoft hesecoul dbe
consider ed P ferti
li
zersaswel l.Gener al
ly,45-70% ofmanur e-
Pi s
i
nor ganicP.Or gani cPconstitut
est heremainingtotalP.Muchoft he
organi cP i seasi l
ydecomposabl eint hesoil,butfactorssuchas
temper ature,soilmoi st
ure,andsoi lpH allhaveabear i
ngont heP
miner ali
zati
on r ate. The f i
nal decomposi ti
on pr oduct i s
orthophosphat ePcompounds.

The combi nation oft he organic/

inorganicP r at
ios i
nt he
organicPsour cesandt hesoilenv i
ronmentaf fectt
heav ail
abilit
y
coeffi
cient for or ganic P. Most ani mal manur e resear ch
i
nterpretat
ionsindicatethatapproximately60-80%oft hetotalPi s
avail
ablet o cr ops int he first year.Due t ot he chemi cal
composi ti
onofot herorganicPsour cessuchasbonemeal ,lesser
amount sofplantav ai
labl
ePcompar edt ototalPareexpected.

Cl
assi
ficat
ionofphosphat i
cfert
il
izers
I
. Cl assi
fi
cati
onofphosphati
cferti
li
zer
sbasedonr
elat
ive
solubi
l
ityofphosphat
e:

A)Wat
ersol
ubl
ephosphor
usf
ert
il
izer
s
B)Wat
eri
nsol
ubl
ebutci
tr
atesol
ubl
ephosphor
usf
ert
il
izer
s
C)Wat
erandci
tr
atei
nsol
ubl
ephosphor
usf
ert
il
izer
s

104
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

A)Wat
ersol
ubl
ephosphor
usf
ert
il
izer
s:
y
Si
ngl
esuperphosphat
e(16-
18%
P2O5)
y
Doubl
esuperphosphat
e(32
%P2O5)
y
Tr
ipl
esuperphosphat
e
(
46-
48%P2O5)
y
Hi
ghercont
entorconcent
rat
edsuper
phosphat
ey
Ammoni
um phosphat
e(20%Nand
20%P2O5)
Thesefert
il
izersaresuitabl
ef orneutraltoalkali
nesoi l
sand
should be appli
ed att he time ofsowi ng.Immedi at
ely af t
er
appl
icati
on,phosphor usget
s conv ert
ed i
ntoi nsolubl
e dicalci
um
phosphate.Hence t he P ferti
l
izerscont
aining watersol ubleP
shouldbeappliedingr anul
atedf ormr at
herthanpowder edf orm.
Contactbetweensoi landf erti
li
zersshoul dber educed.Hence
pocketi
ngofferti
l
izersisbenefi
cialthanbroadcasting.

Underacidi
ccondit
ions,watersol
ublephosphor
icaci
dget
s
conv
ertedint
ounavai
labl
eironalumini
um phosphat
es.

B)Wat erinsol
ubl
ebutci tr
atesolublephosphorusfer
ti
li
zer
s:
Phosphoruspresentinthesefertil
i
zersissol
ublein2%ci t
ri
cacid
or
neut
ralnormalammoni um acet
atesoluti
on.Pispresentas
di
calci
um phosphateCa2H2( PO4)2/CaHPO4
• Basi
csl
ag(
14t
o18%P2O5)
• Di
cal
cium phosphat
e(34-
39%P2O5)
• Rawandst
eamedbonemeal (
par
toftheP2O5sol
ubl
einci
tr
ic
aci
d)–sui
tabl
eforaci
dsoi
l
sandlat
eri
ti
csoil
s

Theferti
li
zersofthisgrouparepart
icul
arlysuit
abl
ef ort
he
aci
dicsoils,
becausewi thlow pH ci
trat
esol ublephosphori
cacid
gets convert
ed i nt
o monocalcium phosphate orwat ersolubl
e
phosphate,andt her
eislesschancesofphosphat eget
ti
ngf i
xedas
i
ronandal uminium phosphate.

105
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Contact between soiland ferti

li
zer shoul
d be mor et o
sol
ubil
izetheci t
rat
esolubl
ePpr esentinthefert
il
izer
.Hencethey
shoul
dbeappl iedasbroadcast
ingtoincr
easecontactwit
hsoil
.

C)Waterandci tratei
nsolublephosphorusfer
ti
li
zers:
Phosphor us
presentint
hef erti
li
zerisnotsolubl
ebothinwaterandcitr
atesol
uti
on
containi
nginsolublephosphori
cacidortri
calci
um Phosphate(
Ca3
(PO4)2

1)
Rockphosphat
e(20t
o40%P2O5)
2)
Rawbonemeal
(20t
o25%P2O5)
3)
Steamedbonemeal
(22%P2O5)
Theseferti
l
izersv erywellsui
tedforaci
dicsoilsoror gani
c
soil
s,whi chrequirel argequanti
ti
esofphosphati
cf er
til
i
z ersto
rai
set hesoilfert
il
it
y .Theyshouldbeappli
edasbr oadcast ingto
facil
i
tateinti
mat econt actwit
hsoi l
.Theyshoul
dbeappl iedone
mont h beforet aking up the crop so that i
nsoluble-
P get s
solubil
izedbythetimeofsowi ngofcrop.

I.RockPhosphat e( Apat i
te)
Rockphosphat e,orphosphor ite,ismi nedf r
om cl aydeposits
thatcont ainphosphor usandi susedt omakeor gani cphosphat e
fert
ili
zerst hatmanygar denersutil
ize.Int hepast ,rockphosphat e
wasusedal oneasaf erti
lizer
,butduet oal acki nsuppl y,
aswel las
l
owconcent rati
on,mostappl iedfertil
i
zeri spr ocessed.Ther earea
numberoft ypes ofr ock phosphat ef erti
l
izerav ailable on the
mar ket,somear eli
qui d,andsomear edr y
.Manygar denersswear
byusi ngr ock-basedf ertil
izer
ssuchasr ockphosphat e,bonemeal
andAzomi t
e.Thesenut rient-
ri
chfertil
izerswor kwi t
ht hesoi lr
ather
thanagai nsti taschemi calferti
li
zersdo.Thenut rient sarethen
madeav ailabletoplant satast eadyandev enr atet hroughoutt he
growingseason.

Deposit
s ofrock phosphat
ef or
m natural
l
yi n geol
ogical
f
ormat
ions.I
tishar
vest
ed,groundtopowderandaddedtosoilas
a

106
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

sourceofphosphor us.AMi chi

ganSt ateUniversit
ybul l
etin,tit
led
“N-P-K Ferti
li
zer
s,”reportsast eadydecl i
nei nt heav ai
labilit
yof
rockphosphat eonthemar ket.Theaut horcit
est hemat er i
al’
shi gh
transportat
ioncostsandpoorwat ersolubi
li
tyascat al
ystsf orits
diminishedusei nagricult
uralpr acti
ces.Rockphosphat est il
lhas
l
imi t
edusei ndomesticcultivat
ionandi sref
inedasani ngredient
i
not heradvancedfertil
i
zers.RockPhosphat es36% P2O5 Togo&
38%P2O5( Nauruori
gin)RockPhosphat es24%, 26%, 28%, 29%and
30%P2O5( Egypt
ianorigi
n)RockPhosphat e32%( Jordanor igin).

Soilphosphor
usoccursasthr
eef
orms:
Solubl
eP–isdissol
vedi
nwat
erandi
sav
ail
abl
einv
erysmal
l
quanti
ti
es

Labi
leP–i
shel
dloosel
ybysoi
lpar
ti
cles

Stabl
eP–makesupt hemajor
it
yofnon-
organi
cPi
nthesoi
l
andi
sheldst
rongl
ybysoi
lpart
icl
es

Pl
antscanaccesst hesolubl
eandl abilePt hr
oughtheirr
oot
syst
em butitiseasi
estforthem touset hesolublefor
m.Ast hey
useupthesolubl
eP, someoft helabil
ePi sconvert
edtosolubl
eP
sothatt
hereisalway
ssomeav ail
abletoplants.

Commer cialf er
til
izeriti
smost l
ysolubleP( i
nt hef or
m of
phosphat e).Within24hour st
hissolublePst ar
tsbei
ngconv erted
tolabil
ePandev entuallytost
ableP.Whatt hismeansisthatmost
oft hephosphor usf ertil
i
zeryouaddt othesoi lisavail
ablet o
plantsforashor tperiodoft i
me,andt heni tgetsl
ockedawayi n
thesoil.Slowly
, i
twi l
lbemadeav ai
labl
et oplant
sasitmov esfrom
beingst abl
eP, tolabil
ePandf i
nall
ytosolubleP.

Phy
sicalandchemicalpropert
ies:
yThef inepowderofphosphater
ockisknownasf
loatt
omean
unacidul
atedgr
oundrockphosphat
e

107
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

yThe mi ner
ali n phosphaterock is apati
te which has the
gener
alformula[Ca10(
PO4)6(F,Cl(
OH) 2(CO3)
2]
yCont ainabout10-16%Pandv ar
y i
ngamount soflime(7-
10%CaCO3) and, si
li
cafluor
ide[3-4%F]ironandaluminium as
impuri
ti
es.
yI
thasnopract
ical
l
ywat
ersol
ublephosphates(10-7mol
arP),
butl
esst
han30%ofPissol
ublein2.
0%ci t
ricaci
dsol
uti
on.
yWastepondphosphatescont
ain7-
9%Poutofwhi
ch1t o2%
phosphat
erocki
ssolubl
ein1Nneutral
ammoni
um acet
ate.
Fl
owDi
agr
am

Actionofrockphosphat eonaci dsoi l

s:
Whenf i
nelygr oundr ockphosphat ei
sappli
edt oacidi
csoi ls
ortosoilscontai
ni nghi ghper centageoforgani
cmat ter
,Carboni c
andnitri
cacidspresenti nt hesoilactonrockphosphate,whichi s
contai
ning tri
calcium ( unavai
lable) and convert unavailable
phosphatetomonocal cium phosphat eorwat
ersolublephosphat e
whichiseasilyav ail
ablet ogrowingpl ant
s.I
thasbeenobser v
ed
reacti
onsinthefollowingmanner .

108
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

I
ngeneralgr
oundrockphosphateshouldbeappliedi nlarge
quanti
ti
esof500to1000kgperhect areonceinthreey ears,but
shoul
dnotbeappliedinsmallquant
it
ieseveryyear
.Itshoul dbe
thor
oughlymi
xedinthetopsoi
lwit
hcountr
yploughordi scharrow.

Str
ongl
yacidi
csoil
saremostsui t
ablefordir
ectappli
cat
ionof
rockphosphates.Suchareasarefoundinwhol eKerala,Shi
moga,
My sore,part
s ofAssam,Bi har
,Mussor ier ockphosphate and
Puruliarockphosphat
ehav ebeenr ecogni
zedbyI CARf ordirect
appli
cation.

Di
rectusesofrockphosphat e
1) Around90%ofr ockphosphat
eisusedi
nthemanuf
act
uri
ng
ofphosphat
icferti
l
izer
s.

2) Di
rectuseofRockPhosphate[R.
P]ismainlyf
oraci
dsoi l
s.
Aci
dicsoi
lscontai
nacidswhichreactwit
hrockphosphat
e
yi
eldmonocal
cium phosphat
e(MCP) ,whi
chisavai
labl
eto
pl
ants.

UseofRockphosphat easdi
rectappli
cat
iondependsont
he
fol
lowi
ngfact
or s:
a) Soilr
eact
ion:Notappl
i
edinneutr
alandal
kal
inesoi
ls

109
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

b) Doseandtimeofappl
icat
ion:Itshoul
dbeappli
edinl
arge
quant
it
iesoncei
n5-6year
s,itshouldbef
inel
yground

c) Pl
antSpecies:R.
P.i
susef
ulforcalci
um l
ovi
ngpl
ant
sli
ke
l
egumes.Itshoul
dbeappl
iedforlongdur
ati
oncommerci
alcr
ops.

d) Soilor
gani
cmat t
er:Canbeappl iedi
nsoilscontaini
nghigher
amounts oforganic matt
erbecause aci ds are produced
duri
ngdecomposit
ion,t
hent hetri
cal
cium phosphate(TCP)is
conver
tedtomonocalcium phosphat
e( MCP).

e) Organi
cmanures:R.Pcanbeappli
edalongwithdecomposed
organi
c mater
ial
s like green manures because duri
ng
decomposi
ti
onacidsaresecret
ed.

f
) Phosphocompost :Applyi
ng r ock phosphates al
ong with
phosphorussolubi
li
zi
ngbact er
iawi t
horwi t
houtsulphurand
sul
phuroxidizi
ngbacter
ia.Duri
ngt hedecompositi
onprocess
ofplantandani malsour ces(resi
dues)iscalledphosphor
compost .
Acidsproducedduri
ngcompost ingconver
tTCPt oMCP.

g) Phosphatesolubi
li
zingbact
eri
a:WhenRPisappl
iedt
o
neut
ralsoi
ls,
itisappli
edwit
hphosphor
ussol
ubil
i
zing
bact
eri
a.

h) Ferti
lizers:Itcan be appl
i
ed along wit
h acid produci
ng
fert
il
izers.Iti
sal
soappli
edalongwiththeSSP,becauseMCP
producesH3PO4whi chintur
nconvertsTCPinR.PtoMCP.

I
I.BoneMeal
Bonemeali sami xt
ureoff inel
yandcoar sel
ygroundani mal
bonesandsl aughter-
housewast eproducts.Iti
susedasanor gani
c
fert
il
izerforplantsandasanut ri
ti
onalsupplementforanimals.Asa
slow-rel
easef ert
il
izer
,bonemeali spr i
mar i
l
yusedasasour ceof
phosphorusand pr otei
n.Finelyground bonemealmaypr ovidea
quickerreleaseofnut ri
ent
st hanthecoarsergroundv er
sionofbone
meal .

110
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Asaf er
ti
lizer,theN- P-K( Nitrogen-
Phosphor
us-Potassi
um)
rat
ioofbonemealcanv ar
ygr eatly
,dependingonthesource.From
alow of3- 15-
0t oashi ghas2- 22-0thoughsomest eamedbone
mealshav eN- P-Ksof1- 13-0.Bonemeali salso an excell
ent
sourceofcal cium,butdoesnotpr ovi
deenoughni t
rogent obe
benefici
altopl ants.Plantscanonl ygetphosphorusf rom bone
meali fthesoilpHi sbelow 7.0( acidicsoi
l)
,accor
dingt orecent
ColoradoStateUni ver
sityresearch.

Bonemeali saslow-releaseform ofphosphor

us( P)thatmay
be expressed as phosphate orphosphor us.Phosphorus as a
percentageis2.
3t i
meshighert hannumbersshownf orphosphat e,
so10percentphosphat ei sthesameas23percentphosphor us.
Bonemeali ssoldindif
ferentforms,rangingfr
om coarset ofine
grades.Themostcommonl yfoundformi nmostgardenst oresis
afinel
ygr oundpowderwithaconsi st
encysimil
artobakingflour.

Bonemealcanbei ncorporatedi ntosoi l

satar ateof10
poundsper100squar efeetofgar den.Mostv egetabl
epl antswill
benef itf rom an annualappl i
cation ofbone meal ,buti tis
particularlybenef i
ci
alforr ootcr ops,i ncluding carrot
s,oni ons,
radishes,par snipsandturnips.Flower sgr ownf r
om bulbs,cor ms
andt uberswi l
lalsobenefi
tfrom anappl i
cat i
onofbonemeal .The
calcium i nfusionf r
om bonemealhel pspl antsdev elopstrongand
healthycel l
sandseeds.I talsost rengthenst hest emsandai dsin
thedev el
opmentofnewshoot sinper ennialcropsandshr ubs.The
calcium i nbonemealcanal sohel ppr eventcommonpr oblemsi n
veget ables such as bl ossom- end r oti n crops l i
ke tomat oes,
eggpl antsandpepper s.

Bonemealcanbeusedasonepar tofabal ancedorganic

fert
il
izerpr
ogram f orbulbs,rosesandot herplant
st hatbenefi
t
from aslow-
releaseform ofphosphorus.I
tcanf eedplant
sforup
tofourmonths.Al t
houghi tdoesnotoff
erahi ghamountofeither
,
bonemealal sohast raceamount sofni tr
ogenandpot assium.
Here’swhentoaddbonemeal tothegar
denandwhennott o.

111
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

BoneMealf orPhosphor us
Allpl ants need phosphor us,whi ch bone mealsuppl ies,
especial
lywhendev elopingr oot s.Iti
soneoft hethreeessential
macronut r
ients,al ong wi t
h ni trogen and pot assium.Adequat e
amount sofphosphor usint hesoi lar
eessent ialforoptimalcrop
yi
elds.Inaddi tiont orootdev elopment,i tenabl esplantstostore
and transferener gy ,and dev elop fl
ower s and f ruit
.Maxi mum
phosphorusav ailabili
tyoccur sbet weenpH l ev el
sof6and7.A
phosphorusdef iciencymaypr esenti t
selfont hepl antasstunted
growth,and weak orspi ndlyst ems.Phosphor us-def
ici
entleaf
symptomsi ncludedar kleafvei nswhi l
ether estoft heleaffadesto
huesr angingf rom y ell
ow,pur pleorbl ue-green.Fl owersmaybe
underdeveloped, appearl ate,ornotatal l
.

BoneMealf orCal cium

Cal cium isanat ur all
yoccur r
ingsecondar ynutrientneededby
cropsf orpl antgrowt h.Pl antsusecal ci
um f r
om bonemealand
othersour ces to pr oduce cel lwal l
s and r ootends.Cal cium
deficiencyshowsi tsel fint her oot s,leav esandf ruit
sofpl ant s,
al
thoughi tmaybehar dt odet ecti fiti
sonl yaffectingt her oot s.In
l
eav es,t hey oungl eav esar eaf f
ect edf i
rstandwi llappearsl ight l
y
deformed.Sev erecal cium def ici
encywi l
lkillgrowt ht i
psandst op
l
eafpr oduct i
onent ir
el y.Root sbecomest unt edandshor t,andar e
notv igor ous enough t o penet r
at et hrough t he soi l
.Cal cium-
deficientf r
uitmaydev elop bl ossom- end r ot,whi chcausest he
bl
ossom endoft hef rui
tt o becomedar k,leather yf eeli
ngand
l
ooki ng,andev ent
uallyr ott en.Af fectedf ruitwi l
lstopgr owi ngand
dropof ft heplant.Forni trogen- fi
xingl egumes,cal cium def i
ciency
willappearaspod r ot ,and t hepl antswi llnotf ixni t
rogenas
effi
cient lyasthoset hatar ewel lsuppl i
edwi ththemi neral.

Theorganicandnat ur
alsour
cesofcal
cium incl
udeeggshells,
gypsum andlime,althoughli
meshouldnotbeusedonsoi lsthat
haveapHhi gherthan7.Addingtoomuchcal ci
um toyoursoilcan
rai
sepHl ev
els,makingsoilmorealkal
i
ne.Manyf oodcropscanbe
harmedby

112
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

addit
ivesthatrai
sethepHt oohigh.I
fyouneedtoaddcal
cium and
al
sor aisethepH,li
mestoneshoul dbeconsi
der
edinst
eadofbone
meal.Ify ouneedt oaddcal cium,donotneedt hephosphorus
boostoft hebonemeal ,anddonotwi shtorai
seyoursoilpH,
gypsum (calci
um sul
phate)shouldbeused.

II
I.Basicsl ag
Basicsl agi saco- productofst eel
making,andi st ypicall
y
producedei therthrought hebl astfurnaceoxygenconv er
terr oute
ortheel ectri
car cf ur
nacel adlefurnacerout
e.Tof l
uxthesi l
ica
produceddur i
ngst eel
maki ng,li
mest oneordolomiteareadded,as
wellasot hertypesofsl agcondi ti
onerssuchascal ci
um alumi nate
orf l
uorspar .The maj orcomponent s ofthese slags t
her efore
i
nclude the oxi des ofcal cium,magnesi um,si l
icon,iron,and
al
umi num,wi t
hl esseramount sofmanganese,phosphor us,and
othersdependi ngont hespeci fi
csoft herawmat er
ial
sused.

Because of t he slowlyreleased phosphate content in

phosphorus-contai
ningsl
ag,andbecauseofi t
slimingeffect,iti
s
val
uedasf erti
l
izeringardensandf armsinsteelmakingar eas.
Howev er
,themosti mport
antappli
cationi
sconstruct
ion.

I
nnat ur e,i
ron,copper,lead,nickelandot hermet al
sar ef oundin
i
mpur est atescal l
edores,oftenoxi di
zedandmi xedi nwi thsil
icatesof
othermet als.Dur i
ng smel ting,when t he or ei s exposed t o high
temper at ur
es,t heseimpur it
iesar eseparatedf rom t hemol t
enmet al
andcanber emoved.Slagi st hecol l
ecti
onofcompoundst hatare
remov ed.I n many smel t
ing pr ocesses,oxi des ar ei ntr
oduced t o
controlt hesl agchemi str
y,assi sti
ngt her emov alofi mpur iti
esand
protectingt hef ur
nacer ef
ract or
yl i
ningfrom excessi vewear .I nthi
s
case,t hesl agi stermedsy ntheti
c.Agoodexampl ei sst eelmaking
slag:qui ckli
meandmagnesi tear eintr
oducedf orrefractorypr otect
ion,
neutrali
si ngt healuminaandsi l
icasepar atedf rom t hemet al,and
assistint her emov alofsulphurandphosphor usf rom thest eel.

113
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Phy
sicalpr
operti
esofslag:
yHeav y,dar
kbr own powder
,gr
ound and passt
hrough 100
meshsieve
y
Hasr
elat
ivel
yhi
gherdensi
tyt
hananyot
herf
ert
il
izer
mat
eri
alyI
tisl
i
kel
ytosol
i
dif
ywhenex
posedt
o
moi
stur
e.y
Chemi
cal
proper
ti
esofphosphat
icf
ert
il
izer
s:
yThebasi
csl
agi
sadoubl
esi
l
icat
eofphosphat
eandl
i
me
yTheslagobtainedfrom Indi
anst eeli
ndust
rycontai
nonly3-8
% P2O5 .
Bei
ngl ow i
nP2O5 havinghighestvi
scosit
y,i
tisnot
popular
lyusedinIndianagri
cul
ture.
yBei
nglowinP2O5iti
scurrentl
yenrichedwi t
hrockphosphat
e
andmarket
edaspelophoswhi chonanal y
siscontai
ns11.0%
ci
tr
atesol
ubleand5.
0%wat ersolubleP2O5
yI
tisal
kal
ineinreacti
onandhasneut
ral
i
zingef
fectequalt
o
70%CaCO3equi
valent
.

IV.Singlesuperphosphat e
Single super phosphate( SSP) was the f
irst commercial
mineralfert
il
izer,anditledt othedevel
opmentofthemoder npl
ant
nutr
ientindustry.Thismat eri
alwasoncet hemostcommonl yused
fer
ti
li
z er
,butot herphosphor us( P)f
ert
ili
zer
shavelar
gelyrepl
aced
SSPbecauseofi tsrelat
ivelylowPcont ent
.

Char
act
erofSSP
ySSPisoneoft
hecheapestf
ormsof
phosphat
eySuppl
i
essul
phat
esul
phurand
cal
cium.
yTherat
ioofphosphor
usandsul
phursui
tsmanycr
opand
past
ureneeds.
y Bot
hthephosphor
usandsul
phurar
einr
eadi
l
yav
ail
abl
efor
ms.
y Canbebl
endedwi
thot
herf
ert
il
iserpr
oduct
s(exceptUr
ea&DAP)

114
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

yCanbest
oredeasi
l
yforl
ongper
iods,
wit
houtt
aki
ngupmoi
stur
e.
yContai
nscal
cium andsul
phur(mostl
yasgypsum)andhel
ps
keepsoil
ingoodshapebymaint
aini
ngsoi
lst
ruct
ure.
ySSPpr ovidesabalanceofP,SandCat hatmimi
cspast
ure
growt hrequir
ementsandisthebestbal
ancedP,SandCa
fert
il
iserforAust
ral
i
anpastur
es.
Pr
oduct
ion
Themoder nf erti
li
zerindustrywasl aunchedi nt he1840wi th
discov erythatt headdi t
ionofsul phuri
caci dtonat urallyoccur ring
phosphat eproducedanexcel lentsolublef ert
il
izer,gi vent hename
“super phosphate.”Gr ound animalbones wer ef irstused i nt his
reaction,butnat ur aldeposi t
s ofr ock phosphat e( apat i
te)soon
replacedt hel i
mi tedsuppl yofbones.Maki ngSSPi ssi mi lartowhat
natur all
y occurs wi th bones orapat i
tei n aci d soi l
s.The basi c
techni que has changed v eryl i
tt
lei nt he pastcent ury.Gr ound
phosphat erocki sr eactedwi t
hsul phuri
caci dt ofor m asemi -solid,
whichcool sforsev eralhoursinaden.Thepl asti
c-li
kemat eri
alisthen
conv ey edtoast or agepi leforseveralweeksofaddi tionalcur ing.The
hardenedmat eri
ali st henmi ll
edandscr eenedt ot heappr opriate
particlesizeorgr anul ated.

Thegeneralchemi
calr
eact
ioni
sCa3(PO4)2[
rockphosphate]
+2H2SO4[
sulphuri
caci
d]→ Ca(
H2PO4)
2[monocal
cium phosphat
e]
+2CaSO4[gy
psum] .
SSPcaneasi l
ybeproducedonasmal lscaletomeetregional
needs.SinceSSPcont ai
nsbot hmonocalcium phosphate( MCP,
also cal
l
ed calci
um dihy drogen phosphat e)and gypsum,no
probl
emsar i
sewit
hphosphorgy psum bypr oductdi
sposalunlike
themanuf act
ureofot
hercommonPf ert
il
izers.

SSPi salsoknownasor di
narysuper
phosphateandnormal
superphosphate. It’
s somet imes conf used with t r
ipl
e
superphosphate(TSP)pr oduct
ion,whi
ch result
sfrom r
eacti
ng
rockphosphatewithphosphori
cacid.

115
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Agri
cul
turaluse
SSP isanexcel l
entsourceofthreepl
antnut
rients.TheP
componentreact
sinsoil
simi
larl
ytoot
hersol
ubl
efer
ti
lizers.

Thepr esenceofbot hPandsul phur( S)inSSPcanof feran

agronomi cadv antagewherebot hofthesenut ri
entsaredefi
ci ent
.
Inagronomi cst udieswhereSSPi sdemonst r
atedtobesuper i
ort o
otherPf ert
il
izers,it’
susual
lybecauseoft heS,Ca( orboth)thatit
contai
ns.Whenl ocall
yavai
lable,SSPhasf oundwi despr
eadusei n
fert
il
iz
ingpast ur eswherebot hPandSar elow.Asasour ceofP
alone,SSP of ten costs mor et han other,mor e concentrated
fert
il
iz
ers;thereforeithasdeclinedinpopulari
ty.

V.Diammoni um phosphat e
Diammonium phosphat e(DAP)i sthewor l
d’smostwidely
used phosphorus f er
til
izer.It’s made f r
om t wo common
constit
uent
sinthef erti
l
izerindustry
,anditsr
elat
ivel
yhi
ghnutr
ient
contentandexcell
entphy sicalpropert
iesmakeitapopul
archoice
i
nf armingandotherindust r
ies.

Product i
on
Ammoni um phosphat efer
ti
li
zersfirstbecameav ail
ableint he
1960,andDAPr apidl
ybecamet hemostpopul ari nthi
scl assof
products.It’
sf ormulat
edi nacont rol
ledr eact
ionofphosphor i
c
acidwi t
hammoni a,wheret hehotslurr
yi sthencooled,granulated
andsi eved.DAPhandl esandst oreswel l
.Thest andardnut ri
ent
gradeofDAPi sr el
ati
velyhigh,at18-46- 0,sof er
ti
li
zerproduct s
withlowernut r
ientcontentmaynotbel abel l
edDAP.

Thei nputsrequiredtopr oduceonet onofDAPf ert

il
izerare
appr oxi
mat el
y1. 5to2t onsofphosphat erock,0.
4t onsofsulphur
(S)t odissolvether ock,and0.2t onsofammoni a.Changesi nthe
suppl yorpr i
ceofanyoft heseinputswil
limpactDAPpr icesand
av ail
abi
li
ty.Thehi ghnutri
entcontentofDAPhel psreducehandli
ng,
freightand

116
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

appl
i
cat
ioncost
s.DAPisproducedi
nmanylocat
ionsi
nthewor
ld
andi
sawidelyt
radedf
ert
il
iz
ercommodi
ty.

DAPf ertil
i
zerisanexcellentsour
ceofPandni t
rogen( N)for
pl
antnut r
it
ion.It’
shighlysol
ubleandthusdissol
vesquickl
yinsoil
toreleasepl ant-
avai
lablephosphateandammoni um.A not able
propert
yofDAP i st he al
kali
ne pH thatdevel
ops around t
he
di
ssolvinggranule.

Asdi ssolvi
ngDAPgr anulesrel
easeammoni um, theseedl
i
ngs
andpl antrootsnear
estthev olat
il
eammoni acanbehar med.This
potentialdamagemor ecommonl yoccur swhent hesoi lpH is
greaterthan7,aconditi
ont hatoftenexistsaroundt hedissol
ving
DAPgr anul
e.Topreventsuchdamage, usersshouldav oi
dplacing
hi
ghconcent r
ati
onsofDAPnearger minati
ngseeds.

Theammoni um presentinDAPi sanexcellentNsour ceandwi l

l
be gr adual
lyconv er
ted to nitrate bysoi lbacteri
a,resulti
ng ina
subsequentdr opinpH.Ther efore,theriseinsoilpHsurroundingDAP
granulesisat emporaryeffect.Thisinit
ialr
iseinsoilpHnei ghbour
ing
DAP cani nf
luencet hemi cro-sit
er eacti
onsofphosphat eandsoi l
organicmat t
er.

Managementpr acti
ces
Diff
erencesinthei ni
ti
alchemicalr
eacti
onbet weenvarious
commer cialPferti
li
zersinsoilbecomemi norovertime(wi thi
n
weeksormont hs)andar emi ni
malasf araspl antnutr
it
ioni s
concerned. Most f i
eld compar i
sons between DAP and
monoammoni um phosphat e(MAP) show onl y minor or no
di
ffer
encesi nplantgrowthandy i
eldduetoPsour cewit
hpr oper
management .

VI.Tri
plesuperphosphat e
Tri
ple superphosphateis highl
y concent
rated phosphorus
fer
ti
li
zerwithcontentsof46%di phosphor
uspent oxi
de(P2O5).I
tis
appropr
iat
ef orfeedi
ngal lt
hetypesofsoi l
swhichhaveрНwi t
hin
theli
mitsofweaklyacidictoal
kali
nemedi um.

117
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

I
tassist
st heaccelerat
ionoft hegrowthandt hedevelopmentof
therootsy stem,i ncreasest heresist
anceoft heplantstof r
eezing,
helpsforthef ullabsorpti
onoft hesoilmoisture,andinthismanneri t
reducesthepr obabil
ityofdamagest ot heplant sinti
meper iodsof
drought.In combi nation wi t
h nitr
ogen ferti
lizer
si n a balanced
formulat
ionitassi st
st heabsorpti
onal soofothernouri
shingelements
oftheplant.

Thet i
meper i
odsdur i
ngwhi cht het ri
plesuper phosphat eis
appliedar epr edomi nant lyasst ockingaut umnf ertil
ization,asitis
a sl owly act i
ng f er ti
l
izer.The gr adualdel ivery oft he act
ive
subst ancei sduet ot het echnologyofpr oducti
oni tselfandt hefact
thatt hebasi cr awmat erial
sar ephosphor usores.Theydet ermine
thecont entsofv ari
ousf orms,whi chphosphor usi si nt heproduct
i
n.Cer tai
n condi tions of t he medi um ar er equired f or the
decomposi tionofphosphor usint hesoi lt
of orms, whi char eeasil
y
absor bablef ort hepl ants.Wat er-solubl ephosphor usi st hemost
accessi blef ort hecr opsandt her emai ni
ngf ormscont ainedinit
mustpasst hr oughv ariousprocessest or eacht hesef or ms.Duet o
thewat er-
sol ublephosphor us,whi cht hephosphor usi sconnect ed
i
nt hef er t
il
izerin, i
tmaypr ovi
def ormoment arysat i
sfact ionofthe
needs oft he pl ants ofphosphor i
cf ood,t he remai ning for
ms
continuet odel iveranact i
vesubst ancef oral ongert i
meper i
od.
Thisqual i
tymakesi tv eryeffecti
v ef oragr i
culturebecauseofi ts
prolongedact i
on.

I
tisnothygr
oscopi
candithasagr anularf
orm wi
thequalin
si
ze granul
es which makes i
ts appl
i
cation thr
ough fer
ti
li
zer
spr
eadingequi
pmentver
ypreci
se.

Itisrati
fi
edasapr oducti nthetechnol
ogyforgrowi ngarabl
e
crops as wellas forper ennial
s.In combinati
on wi t
h nit
rogen
fert
il
izers(ammonium nit
rate,li
quidnit
rogenfert
il
izer
,ureaandso
on),t r
ipl
e super
phosphatei sv er
y successful
l
y applied i
nt he
developmentoffert
il
izerprograms.

118
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Adv
ant ages
• I taccel
erat
est
hegr
owt
hoft
her
ootsy
stem oft
hey
oung
plants

• I
tshor t
ensthetimeper iod ofyouthfuli
nfer
ti
li
tyofy oung
grapevi
nesandfrui
tcrops,i
tacceler
atesthefl
orescenceand
theri
peni
ngofthefr
uit
s

• I
tincr
easest
her
esi
stanceoft
hepl
ant
stof
reezi
ngand
dr
ought

• I
tperformsadecisi
verol
efortheformati
onoft hequali
tyof
theproducti
onofcereal
s,v
egetabl
e,fr
uit
,technicalandoil
-
bear
ingcrops

• I
tel
iminatest
henegat
ivei
nfl
uenceofone-
sidedni
tr
ogen
f
ert
il
izat
ion

• Plant
sderi
vemostphosphor
usfrom thesoili
nt hemi
ddleof
thei
rveget
ati
onwhenthemainv ol
umeofv egetati
vemassis
formedandthepr
oduct
ioni
screated.

Bi
o super: Super phosphat
e produced by bi
ologi
cal
or
ganisms.Appl
icati
onofRockPhosphat
ealongwit
hsul
phuror
wi
thoutsul
phuroxidi
zi
ngbact
eri
a.

I
nthisprocesssulphurgetoxi dizedtosulphat
eandwhi ch,
for
ms H2SO4,whi ch wil
lbe hel pfulin acidul
ati
on of Rock
phosphat
e.Phosphatefert
il
izer
sar ethoseferti
l
izer
swhichcontai
n
PO4ioninpl
antabsorbableform orwhi chyi
eldonconversi
on.

119
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

AI. Tr ipleSuperPhosphat e(TSP-contai

ns
46%P2O5) :Factorsfori
tspopularit
y:
I
tshighpl antnutri
entcontentanditscapacit
ytoreactwit
h
NH3 int he producti
on ofmul t
inut
ri
entfert
il
izer
s.The ‘pr
efi
x’
‘
TRIPLE’wasf i
rstusedwhenSSPcont ai
ned16% P2O5 andTSP
cont
ainedthreet i
mesasmuchas48%P2O5.
Manufactur
ingprocess:
Rawmat eri
als:
1.Rockphosphate2.Phosphor
icaci
d

TSPisobt
ainedbyaci
dul
ati
ngf
inel
ygr
oundphosphat
erock
(0.
14
am)wit
hphosphori
caci
d.

Ca10[
PO4]
6F2+14H3PO4+10H2O→ 10CaH4(
PO4)
2H2O
+2HF

Themet
hodofmanuf
act
urei
scal
l
edConeMi
xerPr
ocess.

Thephosphat
er ock( 100mesh)i smi xedwi t
hphosphor i
cacid
(75%)i naconemixerint heaci d–rockr at i
o( expr
essedasehmol e
rati
o oft ot
alP2O5 t
o CaO i nt heaci dulate)of0. 91 to 0.
95.The
result
antslur
ryi
sthenf edt oabeltconv ey er[asalreadydescr i
bedin
caseofSSP.Anext endedcur i
ngper i
odofabout30day sisr equi
red
forthereacti
ont
ocompl ete,foratt
aini
ngdescr ibedphysicalcondit
ion]

Phy
sicalpropert
iesofTSP
• TSPi npowderyf or
misnotfreefl
owi
ng,hasat endencyto
formlumpsonst or
ageHowever,t
hegranul
atedproducthas
excel
lenthandl
ingandst
oragechar
act
ersandisfr
eef l
owing.

• I
thasbul
kdensi
ty800-
881kgm-3

• TSPistobepackedi
npolyethylenel
i
nedj
utebagsormulti
wal
lpaperbagstopr
eventrott
ingduetof
reephosphor
icaci
d.

120
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Chemi
calpropert
iesofTSP
• Themai nphosphatecompoundpr
esenti
nTSPi
s
monocalci
um sul
phat
e.

• I
tcont
ains46%totalP2O5bywei
ghtand36.
8%mi
nimum by
wei
ghtofwatersol
ubleP2O5
• I
thas3%f
reephosphor
icaci
d

• TSPalsocont
ains12t
o16%ofcal
cium and1.
0to2.
0%of
sul
phur.

121
 Chapt
er15

Manuf
act
uri
ngofSSPandDAP

I.SingleSuperPhosphat e[ 16%P]
Superphosphateisat erm usedinrefer
encetophosphat esof
which isi naf orm r eadil
y av ai
labl
et o plant
s Si ngl
e super
phosphat eist he oldestar t
if
icial
ly pr
oduced fert
il
izerand its
manuf actur
edatesbackt o1842, whenLawesJ. Bpreparedforthe
fir
stt i
mei nEnglandbyt reati
ngRockphosphat ewi thsulphuri
c
acid.

Manuf
act
urepr
ocessofsi
ngl
esuperphosphat
e

122
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Rawmat
eri
als:1)Phosphat
erock2)Sul
phur
icaci
d
Si
ngle superphosphateis(SSP)is manuf
actur
ed bymi xing
gravi
met r
ical
ly equal part
s of sul
phuri
c aci
d (75%) and r ock
phosphateof0. 14mm [ 100meshsieve]
.Ther
earetwomet hodsof
preparat
ionof
SSP

i.Denpr ocess
i
i.Cont i
nuousr ockphosphat eacidul ati
onpr ocess
i
. Denpr ocess
Wei ghed quant iti
es of Rock phosphat e(0.14mm) and
sulphur i
caci d( 75%) aremi xedi nami xer,capabl eofhandl ing40-
50t onnesperhour ,
ar eall
owedt oreactf oraboutami nut eandt he
resultantsl urryisdumpedi nt oacompar tmentknownasDEN
[100-300t onnescapaci t
y] .Inaf ew hour sther eactiongoest o
compl etion. Wat er
,car bon di oxide,f l
uorine,v olat i
l
ize away
resulti
ngi nthereductionint hebul koft hemat eri
al byr etainingthe
mat eriali nt he Den becomes a har d block and r emov alis
accompl ishedbymeansofmechani calexcav atorsequi ppedwi th
revolvingkni feswhichcuti nt othebl ockandt hedi sintegr atedSSP
i
sst or edf or2t o6weekst ocur eandat tai
nt hedesi redphy si
cal
condition.

123
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

i
i
.Cont
inuousr
ockaci
dul
ati
onpr
ocess
Thisisapopul arandlat
estprocessinwhi chaci dul
at i
onofr ock
phosphat ewi thsulphuri
cacidisdonecont inuousl yinmi xerpr ov
ided
wit
hi ndigenousmet eri
ng(H2SO4)andwei ghi ng( RP)dev i
ces.The
mixeri sagi t
ated for2-3 minut
esand i st hendi scharged into an
endlessconv eyerbeltonwhichitsoli
dif
ies.Thebel tconv eyermov es
thebl ocksofhar denedsuperphosphat etowar dsar ev
ol v
ingcut ter
whichdi sintegrat
et hemateri
al.I
tisthent r
ansf erredtoast oragebi n
andst oredf or2-6weekst o cureandat taint hedesi redphy sical
condition.

Phy
sicalproperti
esofSSP
• SSPi si ngranularform hasbil
kdensity961.10kgm-3andis
easytohandl e
• SSPi sal soav ai
lableinpowderform, i
tisnotfr
eeflowi
ngand
beingslight
lyhy groscopichasat endencytocake.Hydrati
on
ofmonocal cium phosphat emaybet hecausef orhardeni
ng
SSP.Ithasgr eycol ourandanacidicodour.

124
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

• Freeacidi
nt heSSP,wi l
lusual
l
yr otthej
utefibr
ebagsand
hencethefert
il
izerhastobestoredinpol
ytheneli
nedgunny
bagsorpol
y et
hy l
enebags.

Chemi
calpr
oper
ti
esofSSP
• SSPhas2/
5monocal
cium phosphat
eand3/
5gy
psum by
wei
ght
• SSPmanuf
act
uredi
nIndi
aconsi
stsoft
wogr
adesv
iz.
,Gr
adeI
:
16%
P2O5%or( 7%P)bywei ghtofwat ersolubleP2O5andGr adeII
:
14%P2O5or( 6%P)bywei ghtofwat ersolubleP2O5.
• SSPal socontai
ns21.0%cal ci
um,12%sul phurandtracesof
micronutr
ient
s.Obvi
ouslyitcontainsmor esulphur(12%)than
phosphorus(6to7%).
• SSPhasapHofabout3.
0

Diammoni um Phosphat e( DAP)

DAPi sappli
edaspl antfood,i ttempor ari
lyi
ncr
easest hesoil
pH,butov eralongter
mt het reatedgr oundbecomesmor eacidi
c
thanbef oreuponnitr
if
icationoft heammoni um.I
tisincompatibl
e
withalkali
nechemi cal
sbecausei tsammoni um i
onismor el i
kel
y
toconv erttoammoni ainahi gh-pHenv i
ronment.Theav er
agepH
i
nsolutioni s7.
5–8.Thet ypicalfor mulati
onis18-46-
0( 18%N, 46%
P2O5,0%K2O) .
DAPmanuf actur i
ngpr ocess
Li
quid ammoni a is fed to t he pr
e-neutr
ali
ser through
dispersi
ondi st
ributorlocatedatthebottom.Phosphor i
cacid54%
P2O5i sinjectedi ntothepr e-
neut
ral
iserfr
om thetop.Agitat
orwith
variabl
edr ivenmot ori
spr ovi
dedinthereact
orforthoroughmi xi
ng
toy i
eldslurry.

Ther
esul
ti
ngboi
l
ingsl
urr
yfr
om pr
e-neut
ral
i
seri
sfedont
he
125
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

rotating bed ofr ecy cle mat erialinar otar

ydr um gr anulatorand
theref or
eiti sammoni atedt o1. 8to1. 85mol erat
ionbyspar ingliquid
ammoni at hrough t he format ion ofr ecentgr anul
es bed i nt he
granul ator
.Themoi stgr anulatedmat er i
aldischargedfr
om gr anulator
i
s dr i
ed inar otarydr yerusi ng hot -
quenched gas t or educe t he
moi sturecont entoft hemat erialfrom about3% t o 1%.Cascade
screensepar atedt hedr iedmat eri
albasedont hesi
zeofgr anule
particles.Thescr eenedoutpar ti
clesar ecooledbyt her otarydr um
coolert heincl i
nedr ot ati
onenhancehugequant i
tyofhotgr anulest o
cont actwi t
hcoolai rblowncount ercur rent
lyfrom theout l
et.The
oversi zemat erial
sfr om thescr eensar epulveri
zedandr ecy cl
edt ot he
granul ator
.

Thegr adeoft heDAPi sadj ust

edbyaddi ti
onofur eaandfill
er.
Conv eyorsy st
em transpor t
st heDiammoni um phosphat efer
ti
lizer
tot he baggi ng sy st
em.Scr ubbi
ng sy stem traps t he f
umes
obtained from the gr anulatorand pr e-neutr
ali
serand t he dr y
scrubbercl eansv entoutai rt hatcarri
est heferti
li
z erpar
ticles
generatedf r
om pulverisers,screensandpr oductcooler.Fi
nall
yt ai
l
gasscr ubberfurt
herscr ubberst heairbef
oredischargingiti
ntot he
atmospher e.

126
 Chapt
er16

K-
Fer
ti
li
zerMOPandSOP-Pr
oper
ti
esand
r
eact
ioni
nsoil

Potassium
Potashi st het hirdmosti mpor tantpr i
mar ynut ri
entel ement
requi
red by t he pl ants.Although cr op-
harv estr emov es mor e
potashthanni trogenandphosphor us, thesoilr eplenishesi tfaster
thantheot hert wo.Thedef iciencyofpot ashi nsoi lsis,ther ef
ore,
notso mar ked as ofni tr
ogen and phosphor us.Def i
ciencyof
potashint hef i
eldissy mptom byscor chingofl eaft i
psadv ancing
towardsleafmar ginsandpr emat uredeat hofl eavesev ent hough
enough ni t
rogen and phosphor us ar e suppl ied. I ncreased
i
ncidenceofi nsectsandpest sattackandsubsequentl odgi ngof
cropplantsast hepl antsl
ooset heirmechani calst rengthar ealso
causedbypot ashdef ici
ency.Ferti
li
z erssupplyingpot ash,thechi ef
commer cialonesar et hepotassium sul phate( 50% K2O)andt he
mur i
ateofpot ash( 60%K2O) .Theot hersarer elativelyofv erylit
tle
i
mpor tance.

127
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Pot assium Fertil

izers
The mostcommon f orm ofpot assi
um f er
ti
li
zerused i n
Albertaispot assi
um chlori
de( KCl),whichhast heanal
ysi
s0- 0-60
or0- 0-62.Itismi nedandr efinedinSaskat chewan.Potassium
chlori
de can be saf el
y blended wi t
h nitr
ogen and phosphat e
fert
ili
zerst oproducev ari
ousbl endstoachi eveopti
mum N- P2O5-
K2Oappl icati
on.
Sour
ceofpot assi
um
1.Mineraldeposi
ts2.I
ndust
ri
albypr
oduct
sand3.
Syntheti
c
Ksal
ts

Cl
assi
fi
cat
ionofpot
assi
cfer
ti
li
zer
s
Potassi
cf er
til
i
zerar eclassi
fi
edbroadl
yintochl
oridesandnon-
chl
ori
des.Thef ol
lowingarethemostimportantKcont
ainingmat er
ial
s.
Woodash,t obaccost ems,woolwast e,fl
uedust,bypr oduct
sf r
om
sugar and alcoholi ndust
ry.Sea weed,sea wat er,K mi ner
als,
processed f
ert
il
izerl
i
kemur
iat
eand SO4 ofpot
ash and sy
nthet
ic
fert
il
izer
s.

A.OrganicKf er
til
izerSources
1.Woodash
UseofwoodashasKf ert
il
izerhasbeent hereforcent
uri
es.
Woodt wigsandbr anchesarebur nttogettheash.Sawdustisalso
used.Thebur ntmat eri
alwi
llcontainvaryi
ngamount satK2Ofrom
5to25%.Si ncewoodashi shighlyalkal
i
nei tshoul
dnotbeapplied
togerminat
ingcr ops.

128
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

2.Tobaccost
em
Inthemanufactureofci
garett
e,cigarandchewingt obacco,
there
resul
ts consider
able wastes consi
sting ofmai nl
yt he stems and
midribsoft heleaves.Thiswastemat eri
ali
scol l
ected,groundand
soldasmanur e.ItTobaccostem contains4to10%K2Oand2t o3%N.
Itisfoundtobeav aluabl
econditi
onerandaddsbul ktot hefer
ti
li
zer
mixtures.

3.Woolwast e
Befor
et heraw woolcoul
dbeusedf orspi
nni
ng,i
tmustbe
tr
eatedfortheremovalof‘
sui
nt’
whi
chisthedri
edsweatofsheep.
This‘sui
nt’consi
stslar
gel
yofKsaltsandcontai
ns1.5to5.0%
K2O.
4.Fluedust
Itisaby -
productfrom t hest eelandcementi ndustry
.For
melti
ngt heir
onami xt
ureofi r
onar e, coal,cokeandl
imestoneare
i
ntroducedintoabl astfurnace.Wheni gni
ted,duetotremendous
heat,t
heKcont ainedintheironor ev olati
li
zesandwhent hegases
contai
ningvolati
li
zedKar ebur nt
,theKdustwi l
lset
tl
ei nthefl
ue
thr
oughwhi cht hegasespassandf r
om t imetotimet hedust
accumulatedwi l
lbecol l
ectedandused.Thi swil
lhave3t o18%
K2OasCl ,SO4andCO3ofK.
Int
hesamewayincementmanufact
ureal
sother aw materi
als
usedarefoundt
ohaveappr
eciabl
eamountofKandt hisvol
atil
i
zed
duri
ngthecementmanuf
act
ure.Thef
luedustobt
ainedfrom t
hisi s
f
oundt ohav
e3t
o13% K2O.Thedustcanbeusedasast
rai
ght
f
ert
il
izer
.
5.Seaweeds
Thisisref
err
edtoast hepoorman’ smanure.I
tcont
ainsa
highamountofK2Ov ary
ingwithspeciesofweeds.Outofmany
vari
eti
es‘kel
p’i
sfoundtooccurextensi
v el
ythr
oughoutt
heworld.
TheSeaweedsashi sf
oundt ohav
emor ethan25%K2O.
129
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

6.Seawater
I
tcont
ainscani
nexhausti
bleamountofK.I
tcont
ains0.
04%
K,0.
14%Mg, 0.
05%Caand1. 14%Na.

B.Pot assi
cminerals
Thereareasmanyas50mi ner
alst
hatar
ef oundt
ocontainK
butallofthem arenoteconomical
l
yimport
ant.TheKcontaini
ng
mineralsar
eroughlycl
assi
fi
edint
o

Mineralshighl
ysolubl
ei nwat eroccurr
ingi
nbrinesor
salt
1.
deposit
Sylvi
nit
e - KCl (
Sylvi
te)
Carnall
it
e - KCl.MgCl 2.6H2O
Langbeinit
e - K2SO4.MgSO4
Kainit
e - KCl.MgSO4.3H2O
2. Mineralslesssol
ubleinwat er
Polyhali
te - K2SO4.MgSO4.2CaSO4.2H2O
3. Mineralsinsol
ubl
ei nwater
Glauconit
e - KFeSi2O6.2H2O
Orthoclase-
Feldspars - KAlSi3O8
Muscov it
eand
Micas - bioti
te

Commer
cial
lyusedmanuf
act
ureofpot
assi
cfer
ti
li
zer
s
1. Sy
lvi
nit
e -KCl
-cont
ains63.
1%K2O
2. Car
nal
l
ite -KCl
.MgCl
2.6H2O cont
ains17%K2O
cont
ains18.
9%
3. Kai
nit
e -KCl
.MgSO4.3H2O K2O
cont
ains26.
6%
4 Langbeinie -K2SO4.2MgSO4
t K2O
K2SO4.MgSO4.2CaSO4.
5 Polyhal
i
t e -2H2O cont
ains15%K2O
130
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Reactionsofpot assi
cfertil
izersinthesoi l
Applicationofanypot assicfert
il
izerdoesnotchanget hepH
ofthe soi l.When a pot assium salti s applied t
o a soiliti
s
i
mmedi at
elydi ssolvedandunder goesi oni
zation.Apor t
ionofK+
i
onsr emai nsi nthesoilsoluti
on,anotherpor t
ionget sadsorbedt
o
cl
aycompl exbyCECr eactionsandat hirdportionisconvert
edint
o
unavail
ablef orm.

Hence,int hesoilt
heKwi l
lbei nthesoluti
on,exchangeabl e
andf ixedf or
ms.Thesol uti
onf ormi sreadil
yav ail
ableandt he
exchangeabl eformi ssl
owlyandst eadi
l
yav ai
lablet oplant
s.The
fi
xedKi sunavail
ablebutalwaysi nanysoi lther eisaconst ant
equil
ibrium amongt hesethreeformsandhencemost lyexi
stsno
defi
ciencyofK.Asmal lquanti
tyofKi sfi
xedbycl ay sli
keil
li
te,and
thi
sf ixationofK dependsupont hetypeofcl ay,temperature,
wetti
ng and dr yi
ng and soilpH.I nthis case t he fi
xati
on is
beneficialasitreducesleachi
ngl ossandt heav ail
abili
tyofKwi ll
bether eforalongt i
me.

Fact
oraffect
ingKf i
xationin
soi
ls1.NatureofCol l
oids
Theabil
it
yofv ari
oussoilcol
loi
dstofi
xK v ar
ieswidel
y.
Kaol
ini
tef
ixesli
tt
le,
whilemontmori
ll
oni
teandi
l
li
tef
ixmore.

2.Wetti
ngandDr yi
ng
When soil
s contai
ning exchangeabl
e K ar
e alt
ernati
vel
y
wett
edanddr i
ed,al
argeporti
onofexchangeabl
eKisconver
tedto
thel
essavai
labl
efor
m.

Thishasbeenex plainedbyassumi nganent

rapmentofKions
betweencont racti
ng struct
uralunitswhent hesoildri
essome
rel
ease oft he ions thus held occur
s upon r
ewetti
ng butthe
l
iberat
ionisslow.

131
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

3.Infl
uenceoflime
Soil
swithhighdegr eeofbasesaturat
ionl oselessoft hei
r
exchangeabl
eKbyl eachingthant
hesoilswi t
hal ow degr eeof
basesaturat
ion.Li
mingist hecommonmeansbywhi cht hebase
satur
ati
onofsoilsi
sincreasedandsoli
mingdecr easedthel ossof
exchangeabl
eK.TheKi onsaremorereadi
lyrepl
acedbycal cium.

Applicati
on
TheKf ert
il
izersareusual lyappliedbeforethecr opi splanted
orsown,t hatist hebasaldr essing.Sincetheappl iedKi snotl ost
fr
om t hesoileitherbyl eachingorbyf ixat
ion,Kf ert
il
izerscanbe
appli
edwel linadv ancebutiti spreferablet
oappl yonlyj ustbefore
plant
ing.Top dr essing withK f erti
l
izerscan also bedonef or
vegetabl
esandot hercrop.

132
 Chapt
er17

Manuf
act
uri
ngofMOPandSOP

Muriat
eofPot ash(MOP)
Potassi
um chl ori
de (commonlyr ef
erred to as Muri
ate of
Pot
ashorMOP)i sthemostcommonpot assi
um sourceusedi n
agr
icul
ture,accounti
ngf orabout95%ofallpotashf er
ti
li
zer
sused
worl
dwide.Pot assi
um: 50%Chlori
de:46%

MOP has a hi gh nutr

ientconcent rati
on and i st her efore
rel
ati
velypricecompet i
tivewithot herformsofpot assium.The
chl
oridecontentofMOPcanal sobebenef icialwher esoilchl oride
i
slow.Recentr esearchhasshownt hatchl orideimpr ovesy ieldby
i
ncreasingdi seaser esi
stancei ncr ops.Inci rcumst anceswher e
soi
lori r
ri
gationwat erchlori
del evel
sar ev eryhi gh,theaddi tionof
ext
ra chlori
de wi th MOP can cause t oxicity.Howev er,thi si s
unl
ikelytobeapr oblem,excepti nv er
ydr yenv ironment s,since
chl
orideisreadilyremovedf r
om t hesoi l
byl eachi ng.

Manuf
acturi
ngprocessesofpotassicf
ert
il
izers
Twotypesofpot
assium f
ert
il
izer
sar
ewidelyproducedi
n
I
ndi
a

133
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

I.Potassium chl ori

de( Muriat
eofpot ash)
AI. Pot assium sulphate(Sul phateofpot
ash)
I.Potassium Chl or
ide(KCl)[MOP]
Pot assium chlori
deispopul arlyknownasmur i
ateofpotash
[
MOP]. Thet erm mur i
ateisderivedf r
om muri
ati
caci
d,acommon
name f orhy dr
ochlori
c acid(HCl ).I
tisthe mostimpor t
antK-
fert
il
izeruseddi rect
lyorinconjunctionwit
hPandNf ert
il
izer
s.

Rawmat eri
als:
1.Sy lv
inite(or)bri
ne
Unli
kephosphat erock,Kmi ner
alsalt
sdonotrequir
eheator
strong acidt reatmentas t hey are watersol
uble.Potassi
um
chlori
dei sr ecovered,f
rom sy l
vi
nit
eadopt i
ngeit
heroft hetwo
processesv i
z .

1. Cryst all
izat i
onpr ocess
2.Flot at i
onpr ocess
1.Cr yst alli
zat ionpr ocess:
Pr i
nci ple:Cr ystalli
zation pr ocess empl oyed i n separ
ating
potassi um chl oridef rom sodi um chl ori
deislargel ydependenton
theirdi fferentsol ubili
tyinhot( 1000C)andcol d( 200C)wat er
.The
solubility ofKCli ncr eases r api
dly withar ise int emperature
wher east hesol ubili
tyofNaClv ar
iesv er
ysli
ght l
y.Coolbr i
ne(200C)
saturat edwi t hbot hthesl atsisheat edto(1000C)andpassesov er
thef inel ygr ound sy l
v i
nit
eor e,when KClr ich br inesoluti
on is
obtained. Itiscool edbyv acuum ev aporat
ionwhi chproducesKCl
crystals,whi char ecent rifuged,washed,dr iedandpacked.The
fi
ltr
ate( bri
ner i
chNaCl )isrecycledf ortr
eat
ingf reshore.

2.Flotati
onprocess
Separati
on ofpot assi
um chlor
ide f
rom i
tsore bymi
neral
fl
otati
on is widel
ypr acti
ced al
loverthe wor
ldrel
ativ
etothe
cry
stall
izat
ionprocess.

134
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

Pri
nciple:Fl
otat
ion isa separati
on processin which a sol
id
tr
eat
edwi thasel ect
iveagentissuspendedi nanaeratedaqueous
l
iqui
d.Thet r
eatedsoli
dadherestot hebubblesofair
,andt hefr
othis
fl
oat
edof fthesuspension.Nonfl
oat i
ngmat er
iali
sremov edaspulp.
Thesylvi
niteoreisami xtur
eofi nterl
ockedcryst
alsofpot assi
um
chl
ori
deandsodi um chlori
deplussmal lquanti
ti
esofclayandot her
i
mpurit
ies.

Rawmater
ial
:Sy
lvi
nit
eore
• Syl
vi
nit
eoreisgr
oundtoapar
ti
clesi
zeof10mesh
• Pul
pedinasatur
atedNaCl-
KClbr
ineandscr
ubbed(
Cent
ri
fuge)
todi
sper
seclayandotheri
mpuri
ti
es.
• Theresul
tantsl
urryi
sthusdesl
i
medi
nspi
ral
classi
fi
erst
o
removefi
nelydi
videdcl
aysli
mes.
• Desli
lmi
ngorremovalofcl
ayi
sthemostimpor
tantst
epsince
thesemater
ial
consumelar
gequant
it
iesoff
lot
ati
onreagent
s.
• Thedesl
i
medslur
ryr
elat
ivel
yfreeofcl
ayi
streat
edwit
h
bi
ndi
ngagent
ssuchasstarchormannogal
actangums
• The r
eagents used f
orsy l
vi
nit
ef l
otati
on is a mixture of
pri
maryali
phat
icaminesaltsderi
vedfrom beeftall
ow, whi
ch
sel
ect
ivel
yfi
lmt hesy
lvi
nit
epart
icl
esot hatt
heywi l
lfl
oat
• Thecondi
ti
onedslur
ryi
scar
ri
edt
ofl
otat
ioncel
l
swher
eai
ris
drawni
ntothesl
urry
.
• Theai rbubbl
esattach t
hemselvestot her eagenttr
eat
ed
syl
vinit
eparti
cl
eint hepulp causi
ng them tof loatt
othe
surf
ace as fr
oth,which i
s mechanicall
y skimmed offby
paddles
• Theconcentr
ateri
chi
nKClisfur
therpur
if
iedbysendi
ngi
tto
cl
eanercel
lstoremov
eresi
dualNaCl
• TheMOPi sseparatedfrom br
inebycent
ri
fugi
nganddry
ingi
n
rot
arydr
iers,scr
eenedt oadesirabl
epart
icl
esizeandfi
nal
l
y
sentf
orproductstorage

135
 Nut
ri
entManagementandFer
ti
li
zerTechnol
ogy

Phy
sicalpropert
iesofMOP
• MOPi npureformiswhitecr y
stal
l
inesal
t.Howev
er,col
our
rangesfrom whi
tetoredbasedontheimpuri
ti
espr
esenti
nK
mineralsandmethodsofref
inement.
• I
thasasol
ubi
l
ityof37gr
amsper100gr
amsofwat
erat300C.
• Thecry
stal
li
neMOPi
snotv
eryhy
groscopi
c,f
lowsf
reel
yand
doesnotcake
• Hasspeci
fi
cgr
avi
tyi
s1.
98.

Chemi
calpr
oper
ti
esofMOP
• MOPcont
ains58%bywei
ghtofK2Oandabout47%chl
ori
de
• MOPisneut
ral
inr eact
ionanddoesnotpr
oduceaci
dit
yand
al
kal
i
nit
yonsoilappli
cati
on.
AI. Pot assi
um Sulphate
(K2SO4)[SOP]Sul phat
eofPot ash
(SOP)
Potassium sul
phat
e(refer
redtoasSul
phateofPotashorSOP)
i
susedi ncr opsthatar
esensiti
vetochlor
ideorfer
ti
li
zerburnl
ike
t
obacco, pi
neappleoravocado,orwher
esulphuri
sdefi
cient
.

Pot
assi
um:
41%-
--
-Sul
phur
:18%

Themanuf actur i
ngpr ocessofSOP
1. Langbei nit
epr ocess
2.Mannheimf ur nacepr ocess
1. Langbei nit
epr ocess:
Theor eLangbei ni
tei sadoubl esulphateofpotassium and
magnesium (K2SO4 2Mg SO4) .Int hi
s process Langbeini
teis
groundanddi ssolvedi nwat erandconcent r
atedsoluti
onofKCl
(bri
ne)i
sadded,whent hepot assi
um sulphat
eprecipi
tatesandis
separat
edbycent r
if
uging.Thewetmat eri
alisdri
ed,screenedand
senttostor
age
.
Thechemi calreacti
oni nvol
vedi s

136
 Dr
.M.Yuvar
aj&Dr
.S.Nant
hakumar

2.Mannhei
mfur
nacepr
ocess:
I
nt hi
s pr ocess,potassi
um chlori
de (KCl)isr eact
ed with
sul
phur i
cacidi naspecialfur
nacepr
ovidedwithrot
aryploughtof
orm
potassium bisulphate(KHSO4)inexothermicreacti
onandt oform
potassium sulphateinendother
micreacti
on.HClgasi sevol
vedasa
by-
productwhi chi scooledandabsorbedinwat er.Reacti
onsthat
occurar e

Phy
sicalpropertiesofSOP
1. Potassium sulphat
e[SOP]i
sawhi
tecr
ystal
l
inesalt
,less
hygroscopi
cascompar edt
oMOPandfreefl
owing.

2. I
thasspeci
fi
cgr av
ityof2.
66andhasasol
ubi
l
ityof13g/
100
gr
amsofwat erat300C.

Chemi
calpr
oper
ti
esofSOP:
1. SOPcont
ains48%K2Oand18%Sbywei
ght
.

2. Li
keMOP,i
tisal
soneutr
al sal
tpr
ovi
dingnei
theraci
dit
ynor
al
kal
i
nit
yonsoil
appl
icat
ion.

3. TheSOP i swidel
ydesir
abl
e.Thechl or
idecontentofKCl
eff
ectsthebur
ningqual
i
tyoftobacco.NeveruseKCl(MOP)
ontobaccocr
op.

137